Bible in 90 Days

10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down ^[a]slain in mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and ^[b]Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers. ⁴ Then said Saul unto his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and ^[c]abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died. ⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons; and all his house died together.

⁷ And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. ⁸ And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa. ⁹ And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰ And they put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon. ¹¹ And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the ^[d]oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

¹³ So Saul died ^[e]for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire thereby, ¹⁴ and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

11 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. ² In times past, even when Saul was king, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and Jehovah thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be ^[f]prince over my people Israel. ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of Jehovah by Samuel.

⁴ And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. ⁶ And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief. ⁷ And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David. ⁸ And he built the city round about, from Millo even round about; and Joab ^[g]repaired the rest of the city. ⁹ And David waxed greater and greater; for Jehovah of hosts was with him.

¹⁰ Now these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who ^[h]showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. ¹¹ And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the ^[i]thirty; he lifted up his spear against three hundred ^[j]and slew them at one time. ¹² And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at ^[k]Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. ¹⁴ And they stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and Jehovah saved them by a great ^[l]victory.

¹⁵ And three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines were encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem. ¹⁷ And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate! ¹⁸ And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto Jehovah, ¹⁹ and said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of these men ^[m]that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

²⁰ And ^[n]Abishai, the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three; for he lifted up his spear against three hundred ^[o]and slew them, and had a name among the three. ^21 [p]Of the three, he was more honorable than the two, and was made their captain: howbeit he attained not to the first three.

²² Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he slew the two sons of Ariel of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow. ²³ And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men. ²⁵ Behold, he was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three: and David set him over his ^[q]guard.

²⁶ Also the mighty men of the armies: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem, ^27 [r]Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the ^[s]Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ^29 [t]Sibbecai the Hushathite, ^[u]Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, ^[v]Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ^32 [w]Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, ^[x]Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of ^[y]Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of ^[z]Sacar the Hararite, ^[aa]Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, ^[ab]Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

12 Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, ^[ac]while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war. ² They ^[ad]were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin. ³ The chief was Ahiezer; then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite, and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah, and Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴ and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty, and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite, ⁵ Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, and Isshiah, and Azarel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites, ⁷ and Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David to the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, that could handle shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the roes upon the mountains: ⁹ Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹ Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹² Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh. ¹⁴ These of the sons of Gad were captains of the host: he that was least was ^[ae]equal to a hundred, and the greatest ^[af]to a thousand. ¹⁵ These are they that went over the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east and toward the west.

¹⁶ And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the stronghold unto David. ¹⁷ And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you; but if ye be come to betray me to mine adversaries, seeing there is no ^[ag]wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. ¹⁸ Then the Spirit ^[ah]came upon Amasai, who was chief of the ^[ai]thirty, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thy helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.

¹⁹ Of Manasseh also there fell away some to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not; for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall away to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads. ²⁰ As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of thousands that were of Manasseh. ²¹ And they helped David against the band of rovers: for they were all mighty men of valor, and were captains in the host. ²² For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great host, like the host of God.

²³ And these are the numbers of the heads of them that were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of Jehovah. ²⁴ The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, armed for war. ²⁵ Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valor for the war, seven thousand and one hundred. ²⁶ Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred. ²⁷ And Jehoiada was the leader of the house of Aaron; and with him were three thousand and seven hundred, ²⁸ and Zadok, a young man mighty of valor, and of his father’s house twenty and two captains. ²⁹ And of the children of Benjamin, the brethren of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had ^[aj]kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers’ houses. ³¹ And of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were mentioned by name, to come and make David king. ³² And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. ³³ Of Zebulun, such as were able to go out in the host, that could set the battle in array, with all manner of instruments of war, fifty thousand, and that could order the battle array, and were not of double heart. ³⁴ And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand. ³⁵ And of the Danites that could set the battle in array, twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. ³⁶ And of Asher, such as were able to go out in the host, that could set the battle in array, forty thousand. ³⁷ And on the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, a hundred and twenty thousand.

³⁸ All these, being men of war, that could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking; for their brethren had made preparation for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover they that were nigh unto them, even as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, victuals of meal, cakes of figs, and clusters of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep in abundance: for there was joy in Israel.

13 And David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader. ² And David said unto all the assembly of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and if it be of Jehovah our God, let us send abroad every where unto our brethren that are left in all the ^[ak]land of Israel, ^[al]with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have ^[am]suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us; ³ and let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we sought not unto it in the days of Saul. ⁴ And all the assembly said that they would do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. ⁵ So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor the brook of Egypt even unto the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God Jehovah that ^[an]sitteth above the cherubim, ^[ao]that is called by the Name. ⁷ And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, even with songs, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.

⁹ And when they came unto the threshing-floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen ^[ap]stumbled. ¹⁰ And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put forth his hand to the ark; and there he died before God. ¹¹ And David was displeased, because Jehovah had broken forth upon Uzza: and he called that place ^[aq]Perez-uzza, unto this day. ¹² And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me? ¹³ So David removed not the ark unto him into the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months: and Jehovah blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had.

14 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar-trees, and masons, and carpenters, to build him a house. ² And David perceived that Jehovah had established him king over Israel; for his kingdom was exalted on high, for his people Israel’s sake.

³ And David took more wives at Jerusalem; and David begat more sons and daughters. ⁴ And these are the names of the children whom he had in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, ⁵ and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Elpelet, ⁶ and Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, ⁷ and Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

⁸ And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David: and David heard of it, and went out ^[ar]against them. ⁹ Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰ And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And Jehovah said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thy hand. ¹¹ So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there; and David said, God hath ^[as]broken mine enemies by my hand, like the breach of waters. Therefore they called the name of that place ^[at]Baal-perazim. ¹² And they left their gods there; and David gave commandment, and they were burned with fire.

¹³ And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. ¹⁴ And David inquired again of God; and God said unto him, Thou shalt not go up after them: turn away from them, and come upon them over against the ^[au]mulberry-trees. ¹⁵ And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle; for God is gone out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. ¹⁶ And David did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from ^[av]Gibeon even to Gezer. ¹⁷ And the fame of David went out into all lands; and Jehovah brought the fear of him upon all nations.

15 And David made him houses in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. ² Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever. ³ And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Jehovah unto its place, which he had prepared for it. ⁴ And David gathered together the sons of Aaron, and the Levites: ⁵ of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty; ⁶ of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty; ⁷ of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty; ⁸ of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred; ⁹ of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore; ¹⁰ of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve. ¹¹ And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, ¹² and said unto them, Ye are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto the place that I have prepared for it. ¹³ For because ye bare it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance. ¹⁴ So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of Jehovah.

¹⁶ And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸ and with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers. ¹⁹ So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed, with cymbals of brass to sound aloud; ²⁰ and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth; ²¹ and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead. ²² And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over ^[aw]the song: he instructed about ^[ax]the song, because he was skilful. ²³ And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark. ²⁴ And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nethanel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵ So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the house of Obed-edom with joy. ²⁶ And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams. ²⁷ And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of ^[ay]the song with the singers: and David had upon him an ephod of linen. ²⁸ Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with psalteries and harps.

²⁹ And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.

16 And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God. ² And when David had made an end of offering the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah. ³ And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion ^[az]of flesh, and a cake of raisins.

⁴ And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate and to thank and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, ^[ba]Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud; ⁶ and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ Then on that day did David ^[bb]first ordain to give thanks unto Jehovah, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

And all the people said, Amen, and praised Jehovah.

³⁷ So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required; ³⁸ and Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers; ³⁹ and Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah in the high place that was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰ to offer burnt-offerings unto Jehovah upon the altar of burnt-offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of Jehovah, which he commanded unto Israel; ⁴¹ and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his lovingkindness endureth for ever; ⁴² and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate. ⁴³ And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

17 And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah dwelleth under curtains. ² And Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee. ³ And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in: ⁵ for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, unto this day, but ^[bg]have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. ⁶ In all places wherein I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar? ⁷ Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the ^[bh]sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ^[bi]prince over my people Israel: ⁸ and I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first, ¹⁰ and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I ^[bj]will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house. ¹¹ And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee; ¹⁴ but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever. ¹⁵ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁶ Then David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, Who am I, O Jehovah God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? ¹⁷ And this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; but thou hast spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Jehovah God. ¹⁸ What can David say yet more unto thee concerning the honor which is done to thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. ¹⁹ O Jehovah, for thy servant’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. ²⁰ O Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ^21 [bk]And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, to make thee a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou redeemedst out of Egypt? ²² For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God. ²³ And now, O Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be established for ever, and do as thou hast spoken. ^24 [bl]And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David thy servant is established before thee. ²⁵ For thou, O my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee. ²⁶ And now, O Jehovah, thou art God, and hast promised this good thing unto thy servant: ²⁷ and now it hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Jehovah, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever.

18 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines. ² And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

³ And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah ^[bm]unto Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. ⁴ And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵ And when ^[bn]the Syrians of ^[bo]Damascus came to succor Hadarezer king of Zobah, David smote of ^[bp]the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. ⁶ Then David put garrisons in ^[bq]Syria of ^[br]Damascus; and ^[bs]the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And Jehovah ^[bt]gave victory to David whithersoever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

⁹ And when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him (for Hadarezer had wars with Tou); and he had with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass. ¹¹ These also did king David dedicate unto Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹² Moreover ^[bu]Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand. ¹³ And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.

¹⁴ And David reigned over all Israel; and he executed justice and righteousness unto all his people. ¹⁵ And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was ^[bv]recorder; ¹⁶ and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was ^[bw]scribe; ¹⁷ and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

19 And it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. ² And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. ³ But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, in that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ Then there went certain persons, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

⁶ And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah. ⁷ So they hired them thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle. ⁸ And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. ⁹ And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field.

¹⁰ Now when Joab saw that ^[bx]the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. ¹¹ And the rest of the people he committed into the hand of ^[by]Abishai his brother; and they put themselves in array against the children of Ammon. ¹² And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee. ¹³ Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God: and Jehovah do that which seemeth him good. ¹⁴ So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him. ¹⁵ And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer at their head. ¹⁷ And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. ¹⁸ And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host. ¹⁹ And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and served him: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.

20 And it came to pass, at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led forth the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it. ² And David took the crown of ^[bz]their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head: and he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much. ³ And he brought forth the people that were therein, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. And thus did David unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴ And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at ^[ca]Gezer with the Philistines: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, of the sons of the giant; and they were subdued. ⁵ And there was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ⁶ And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot; and he also was born unto the giant. ⁷ And when he ^[cb]defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. ⁸ These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

21 And ^[cc]Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. ² And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them. ³ And Joab said, Jehovah make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? why doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel? ⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. ⁶ But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them; for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. ⁷ And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. ⁸ And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing: but now, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

⁹ And Jehovah spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, ¹⁰ Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I ^[cd]offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. ¹¹ So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Take which thou wilt: ¹² either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before thy foes, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of Jehovah, ^[ce]even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me. ¹³ And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very ^[cf]great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man. ¹⁴ So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing-floor of ^[cg]Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. ¹⁷ And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O Jehovah my God, be against me, and against my father’s house; but not against thy people, that they should be plagued.

¹⁸ Then the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and rear an altar unto Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹ And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of Jehovah. ²⁰ And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons that were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. ²¹ And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar unto Jehovah: for the full price shalt thou give it me, that the plague may be stayed from the people. ²³ And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all. ²⁴ And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost. ²⁵ So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. ²⁶ And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. ²⁷ And Jehovah commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.

²⁸ At that time, when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. ²⁹ For the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰ But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.

22 Then David said, This is the house of Jehovah God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.

² And David commanded to gather together the sojourners that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. ³ And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; ⁴ and cedar-trees without number: for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar-trees in abundance to David. ⁵ And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for Jehovah must be exceeding magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for Jehovah, the God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon ^[ch]his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God. ⁸ But the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. ⁹ Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be ^[ci]Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. ¹¹ Now, my son, Jehovah be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of Jehovah thy God, as he hath spoken concerning thee. ¹² Only Jehovah give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of Jehovah thy God. ¹³ Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now, behold, in my ^[cj]affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. ¹⁵ Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skilful in every manner of work: ¹⁶ of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and Jehovah be with thee.

¹⁷ David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ Is not Jehovah your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Jehovah, and before his people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Jehovah your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of Jehovah God, to bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of Jehovah.

23 Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ² And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³ And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. ⁴ Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and judges; ⁵ and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. ⁶ And David divided them into ^[ck]courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷ Of the Gershonites: ^[cl]Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, ^[cm]Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.

¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³ The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, ^[cn]that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, for ever, to burn incense before Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, for ever. ¹⁴ But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The sons of Gershom: ^[co]Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷ And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ The sons of Izhar: ^[cp]Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²² And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them to wife. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

²⁴ These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those of them that were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵ For David said, Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath given rest unto his people; and he dwelleth in Jerusalem for ever: ²⁶ and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the service thereof. ²⁷ For ^[cq]by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁸ For ^[cr]their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God; ²⁹ for the showbread also, and for the fine flour for a meal-offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all manner of measure and size; ³⁰ and to stand every morning to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at even; ³¹ and to offer all burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Jehovah; ³² and that they should keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, for the service of the house of Jehovah.