Prophets and Kings:
Part – 2:
2 Samuel 6:
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem:
1. David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand.
2. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.
3. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart
4. with the ark of God on it,and Ahio was walking in front of it.
5. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
6. When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.
7. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
8. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
9. David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”
10. He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
11. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.
12. Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.
13. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.
14. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,
15. while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17. They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.
18. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.
19. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
21. David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord.
22. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
23. And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
1 Chronicles 13:
Bringing Back the Ark
1.David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
2. He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us.
3. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.”
4. The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.
5. So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim.
6. David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name.
7. They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it.
8. David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.
9. When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled.
10. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.
11. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
12. David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”
13. He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
14. The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.
2 Samuel 7:
God’s Promise to David:
1. After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
2. he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3. Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
4. But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
5. “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
6. I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
7. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
8. “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel.
9. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.
10. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning
11. and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:
12. When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.
13. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.
15. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”
17. Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
David’s Prayer:
18. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
19. And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!
20. “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord.
21. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22. “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
23. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
24. You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,
26. so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
27. “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.
28. Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
29. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
1Chron 15 The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1.After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
2. Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”
3. David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.
4. He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: 5 From the descendants of Kohath, Uriel the leader and 120 relatives;
6. from the descendants of Merari, Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;
7. from the descendants of Gershon, Joel the leader and 130 relatives;
8. from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;
9. from the descendants of Hebron, Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;
10. from the descendants of Uzziel, Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives. 11. Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites.
12. He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.
13. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.”
14. So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.
15. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.
16. David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.
17. So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah;
18. and with them their relatives next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.
19. The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;
20. Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth,
21. and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith.
22. Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.
23. Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark.
24. Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.
25. So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing.
26. Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed.
27. Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod.
28. So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.
29. As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.
2 Samuel 11:
David and Bathsheba:
1. In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3. and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4. Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6. So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David.
7. When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.
8. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10. David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
11. Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
12. Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13. At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
14. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15. In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
16. So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
17. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18. Joab sent David a full account of the battle.
19. He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle,
20. the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?
21. Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”
22. The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say.
23. The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate.
24. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”
25. David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”
26. When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:
Nathan Rebukes David:
1. The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.
2. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
3. but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5. David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!
6. He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7. Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
9. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.
12. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13. Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
14. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
15. After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
16. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.
17. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18. On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19. David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
20. Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21. His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
22. He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’
23. But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24. Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him;
25. and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.
26. Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel.
27. Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply.
28. Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”
29. So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it.
30. David took the crown from their king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city
31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 15:
Absalom’s Conspiracy:
1. In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.
2. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3. Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”
4. And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
5. Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
6. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
7. At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.
8. While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’”
9. The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.
10. Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’”
11. Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter.
12. While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.
David Flees:
13. A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”
14. Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”
15. The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”
16. The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace.
17. So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city.
18. All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19. The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland.
20. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”
21. But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
22. David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23. The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.
24. Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25. Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.
26. But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”
27. The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons.
28. I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”
29. So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30. But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.
31. Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
32. When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.
33. David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.
34. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice.
35. Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace.
36. Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”
37. So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
2 Samuel 16:
The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai:
15. Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.
16. Then Hushai the Arkite, David’s confidant, went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17. Absalom said to Hushai, “So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?”
18. Hushai said to Absalom, “No, the one chosen by the Lord, by these people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and I will remain with him.
19. Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.”
20. Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”
21. Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.”
22. So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23. Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.
2 Samuel 17:
1. Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
2. I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king
3. and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed.”
4. This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
5. But Absalom said, “Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say as well.”
6. When Hushai came to him, Absalom said, “Ahithophel has given this advice. Should we do what he says? If not, give us your opinion.”
7. Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given is not good this time.
8. You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Besides, your father is an experienced fighter; he will not spend the night with the troops.
9. Even now, he is hidden in a cave or some other place. If he should attack your troops first, whoever hears about it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’
10. Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave.
11. “So I advise you: Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba—as numerous as the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle.
12. Then we will attack him wherever he may be found, and we will fall on him as dew settles on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive.
13. If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not so much as a pebble is left.”
14. Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
15. Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so.
16. Now send a message at once and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords in the wilderness; cross over without fail, or the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”
17. Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A female servant was to go and inform them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city.
18. But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So the two of them left at once and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.
19. His wife took a covering and spread it out over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it. No one knew anything about it.
20. When Absalom’s men came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”The woman answered them, “They crossed over the brook.” The men searched but found no one, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21. After they had gone, the two climbed out of the well and went to inform King David. They said to him, “Set out and cross the river at once; Ahithophel has advised such and such against you.”
22. So David and all the people with him set out and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23. When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
Absalom’s Death:
24. David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.
25. Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of Jether, an Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.
26 The Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim
28 brought bedding and bowls and articles of pottery. They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils,
29 honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows’ milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become exhausted and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.”
2 Samuel 24:
David Enrolls the Fighting Men:
1.Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
2. So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”
3. But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”
4. The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.
5. After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.
6. They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.
7. Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.
8. After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9. Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.
10. David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
11. Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:
12. “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
13. So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
14. David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
15. So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
16. When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17. When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”
David Builds an Altar
18. On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19. So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad.
20. When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
21. Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” “To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”
22. Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.
23. Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24. But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.
25. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
1 Chron 29: 26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.
27. He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.
28. He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29. As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer,
30. together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
1chron 21:1. Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
2. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”
3. But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”
4. The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.
5. Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6. But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him.
7. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
8. Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
9. The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer,
10. “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
11. So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice:
12. three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
13. David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
14. So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.
15. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah[b] the Jebusite.
16. David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
17. David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd, have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”
David Builds an Altar:
18. Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19. So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.
20. While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves.
21. Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.
22. David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”
23. Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”
24. But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”
25. So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site.
26. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
27. Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
28. At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.
29. The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon.
30. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
