Bible in 90 Days

The Death of King Saul^(A)

10 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled. ² But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded. ⁴ He said to the young man carrying his weapons, “Draw your sword and kill me, to keep these godless Philistines from gloating over me.” But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. ⁵ The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his sword and died. ⁶ So Saul and his three sons all died together, and none of his descendants ever ruled. ⁷ When the Israelites who lived in Jezreel Valley heard that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and ran off. Then the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸ The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people. ¹⁰ They put his weapons in one of their temples and hung his head in the temple of their god Dagon. ¹¹ When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² the bravest men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and took them to Jabesh. They buried them there under an oak and fasted for seven days.

^13 (B)Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He disobeyed the Lord's commands; he tried to find guidance by consulting the spirits of the dead ¹⁴ instead of consulting the Lord. So the Lord killed him and gave control of the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

David Becomes King of Israel and Judah^(C)

11 All the people of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord your God promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

^4 (D)King David and all the Israelites went and attacked the city of Jerusalem. It was then known as Jebus, and the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were still living there. ⁵ The Jebusites told David he would never get inside the city, but David captured their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City.” ⁶ David said, “The first man to kill a Jebusite will be commander of the army!” Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, led the attack and became commander. ⁷ Because David went to live in the fortress, it came to be called “David's City.” ⁸ He rebuilt the city, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David grew stronger and stronger, because the Lord Almighty was with him.

David's Famous Soldiers^(E)

¹⁰ This is the list of David's famous soldiers. Together with the rest of the people of Israel, they helped him become king, as the Lord had promised, and they kept his kingdom strong.

¹¹ First was Jashobeam of the clan of Hachmon, the leader of “The Three.”^[a] He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them all in one battle. ¹² Next among the famous “Three” was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh. ¹³ He fought on David's side against the Philistines at the battle of Pas Dammim. He was in a barley field when the Israelites started to run away, ¹⁴ so he and his men took a stand in the middle of the field and fought the Philistines. The Lord gave him a great victory.

¹⁵ One day three of the thirty leading soldiers went to a rock where David was staying near Adullam Cave, while a band of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley. ¹⁶ At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David got homesick and said, “How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the Lord ¹⁹ and said, “I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it. These were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.

²⁰ Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of “The Famous Thirty.”^[b] He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and became famous among “The Thirty.”^{[c] 21} He was the most famous of “The Thirty”^[d] and became their leader, but he was not as famous as “The Three.”

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel was a famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man seven and a half feet tall, who was armed with a gigantic spear. Benaiah attacked him with a club, snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with it. ²⁴ Those were the brave deeds of Benaiah, who was one of “The Thirty.”^{[e] 25} He was outstanding among “The Thirty,” but not as famous as “The Three.” David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

^26-47 These are the other outstanding soldiers:

David's Early Followers from the Tribe of Benjamin

12 David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced, reliable soldiers, ² members of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged. They could shoot arrows and sling stones either right-handed or left-handed. ^3-7 They were under the command of Ahiezer and Joash, sons of Shemaah, from Gibeah.

These were the soldiers:

David's Followers from the Tribe of Gad

⁸ These are the names of the famous, experienced soldiers from the tribe of Gad who joined David's troops when he was at the desert fort. They were experts with shields and spears, as fierce looking as lions and as quick as mountain deer. ^9-13 They were ranked in the following order: Ezer, Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Machbannai.

¹⁴ Some of these men from the tribe of Gad were senior officers in command of a thousand men, and others were junior officers in command of a hundred. ¹⁵ In the first month of one year, the time when the Jordan River overflowed its banks, they crossed the river, scattering the people who lived in the valleys both east and west of the river.

Followers from Benjamin and Judah

¹⁶ Once a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went out to the fort where David was. ¹⁷ David went to meet them and said, “If you are coming as friends to help me, you are welcome here. Join us! But if you intend to betray me to my enemies, even though I have not tried to hurt you, the God of our ancestors will know it and punish you.”

¹⁸ God's spirit took control of one of them, Amasai, who later became the commander of “The Thirty,” and he called out,

David welcomed them and made them officers in his army.

Followers from Manasseh

¹⁹ Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David's side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually he did not help the Philistines, for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag. ²⁰ These are the soldiers from Manasseh who went over to David's side when he was returning: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. In Manasseh they had all commanded units of a thousand men. ²¹ They served David as officers over his troops,^[h] because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army. ²² Almost every day new men joined David's forces, so that his army was soon enormous.

List of David's Forces

^23-37 When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul, as the Lord had promised. Their numbers were as follows:

Judah: 6,800 well-equipped men, armed with shields and spears;

Simeon: 7,100 well-trained men;

Levi: 4,600 men;

Benjamin (Saul's own tribe): 3,000 men (most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul);

Ephraim: 20,800 men famous in their own clans;

West Manasseh: 18,000 men chosen to go and make David king;

Issachar: 200 leaders, together with the men under their command (these leaders knew what Israel should do and the best time to do it);

Zebulun: 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight, trained to use all kinds of weapons;

Naphtali: 1,000 leaders, together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears;

Dan: 28,600 trained men;

Asher: 40,000 men ready for battle;

Tribes east of the Jordan—Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh: 120,000 men trained to use all kinds of weapons.

³⁸ All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. ³⁹ They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which their relatives had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food—flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.

The Covenant Box Is Moved from Kiriath Jearim^(F)

13 King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of a thousand men and units of a hundred men. ² Then he announced to all the people of Israel, “If you give your approval and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns, and tell them to assemble here with us. ³ Then we will go and get God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king.” ⁴ The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it.

^5 (G)So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country, from the Egyptian border in the south to Hamath Pass in the north, in order to bring the Covenant Box from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. ^6 (H)David and the people went to the city of Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, in the territory of Judah, to get the Covenant Box of God, which bears the name of the Lord enthroned above the winged creatures. ⁷ At Abinadab's house they brought out the Covenant Box and put it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio guided the cart, ⁸ while David and all the people danced with all their might to honor God. They sang and played musical instruments—harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ As they came to the threshing place of Chidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. ¹⁰ At once the Lord became angry with Uzzah and killed him for touching the Box. He died there in God's presence, ¹¹ and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah^[i] ever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.

^12 (I)Then David was afraid of God and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?” ¹³ So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. ^14 (J)It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.

David's Activities in Jerusalem^(K)

14 King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace. ² And so David realized that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.

³ There in Jerusalem, David married more wives and had more sons and daughters. ⁴ The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Beeliada,^[j] and Eliphelet.

Victory over the Philistines^(L)

⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had now been made king over the whole country of Israel, their army went out to capture him. So David marched out to meet them. ⁹ The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and began plundering. ¹⁰ David asked God, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?”

The Lord answered, “Yes, attack! I will give you the victory!”

¹¹ So David attacked them at Baal Perazim and defeated them. He said, “God has used me to break through the enemy army like a flood.” So that place is called Baal Perazim.^{[k] 12} When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David gave orders for them to be burned.

¹³ Soon the Philistines returned to the valley and started plundering it again. ¹⁴ Once more David consulted God, who answered, “Don't attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees. ¹⁵ When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack, because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.” ¹⁶ David did what God had commanded, and so he drove the Philistines back from Gibeon all the way to Gezer. ¹⁷ David's fame spread everywhere, and the Lord made every nation afraid of him.

Getting Ready to Move the Covenant Box

15 For his own use, David built houses in David's City.^[l] He also prepared a place for God's Covenant Box and put up a tent for it. ^2 (M)Then he said, “Only Levites should carry the Covenant Box, because they are the ones the Lord chose to carry it and to serve him forever.” ³ So David summoned all the people of Israel to Jerusalem in order to bring the Covenant Box to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴ Next he sent for the descendants of Aaron and for the Levites. ⁵ From the Levite clan of Kohath came Uriel, in charge of 120 members of his clan; ⁶ from the clan of Merari came Asaiah, in charge of 220; ⁷ from the clan of Gershon, Joel, in charge of 130; ⁸ from the clan of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, in charge of 200; ⁹ from the clan of Hebron, Eliel, in charge of 80; ¹⁰ and from the clan of Uzziel, Amminadab, in charge of 112.

¹¹ David called in the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the six Levites, Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹² He said to the Levites, “You are the leaders of the Levite clans. Purify yourselves and your fellow Levites, so that you can bring the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ Because you were not there to carry it the first time, the Lord our God punished us for not worshiping him as we should have done.”

¹⁴ Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to move the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel. ^15 (N)The Levites carried it on poles on their shoulders, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

¹⁶ David commanded the leaders of the Levites to assign various Levites to sing and to play joyful music on harps and cymbals. ^17-21 From the clans of singers they chose the following men to play the brass cymbals: Heman son of Joel, his relative Asaph son of Berechiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah, of the clan of Merari. To assist them they chose the following Levites to play the high-pitched harps: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah.

To play the low-pitched harps they chose the following Levites: Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and the Temple guards, Obed Edom and Jeiel.

²² Because of his skill in music Chenaniah was chosen to be in charge of the levitical musicians. ^23-24 Berechiah and Elkanah, along with Obed Edom and Jehiah, were chosen as guards for the Covenant Box. The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were chosen to blow trumpets in front of the Covenant Box.

Moving the Covenant Box to Jerusalem^(O)

²⁵ So King David, the leaders of Israel, and the military commanders went to the house of Obed Edom to get the Covenant Box, and they had a great celebration. ²⁶ They sacrificed seven bulls and seven sheep, to make sure that God would help the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box. ²⁷ David was wearing a robe made of the finest linen, and so were the musicians, Chenaniah their leader, and the Levites who carried the Box. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all the Israelites accompanied the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the sound of trumpets, horns, and cymbals, and the music of harps.

²⁹ As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and leaping for joy, and she was disgusted with him.

16 They took the Covenant Box to the tent which David had prepared for it and put it inside. Then they offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to God. ² After David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord ³ and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat,^[m] and some raisins.

⁴ David appointed some of the Levites to lead the worship of the Lord, the God of Israel, in front of the Covenant Box, by singing and praising him. ⁵ Asaph was appointed leader, with Zechariah as his assistant. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶ and two priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, were to blow trumpets regularly in front of the Covenant Box. ⁷ It was then that David first gave Asaph and the other Levites the responsibility for singing praises to the Lord.

A Song of Praise^(P)

Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon

³⁷ King David put Asaph and the other Levites in permanent charge of the worship that was held at the place where the Covenant Box was kept. They were to perform their duties there day by day. ³⁸ Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and sixty-eight men of his clan were to assist them. Hosah and Obed Edom were in charge of guarding the gates.

³⁹ Zadok the priest and his fellow priests, however, were in charge of the worship of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon. ⁴⁰ Every morning and evening they were to burn sacrifices whole on the altar in accordance with what was written in the Law which the Lord gave to Israel. ⁴¹ There with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were specifically chosen to sing praises to the Lord for his eternal love. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

^43 (U)Then everyone went home, and David went home to spend some time with his family.

Nathan's Message to David^(V)

17 King David was now living in his palace. One day he sent for the prophet Nathan and said to him, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but the Lord's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

² Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because God is with you.”

³ But that night God said to Nathan, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ⁵ From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now I have never lived in a temple; I have always lived in tents and moved from place to place. ⁶ In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

⁷ “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. ^9-10 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to defeat all your enemies and to give you descendants. ¹¹ When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. ¹² He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever. ^13 (W)I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king. ¹⁴ I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.’”

¹⁵ Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving^(X)

¹⁶ Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord's presence, sat down, and prayed, “I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, Lord God, nor is my family. ¹⁷ Yet now you are doing even more; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come, and you, Lord God, are already treating me like someone great.^{[o] 18} What more can I say to you! You know me well, and yet you honor me, your servant. ¹⁹ It was your will and purpose to do this for me and to show me my future greatness. ²⁰ Lord, there is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God. ²¹ There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them spread your fame throughout the world. You rescued your people from Egypt and drove out other nations as your people advanced. ²² You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

²³ “And now, O Lord, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. ²⁴ Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time. ²⁵ I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, my God, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings. ²⁶ You, Lord, are God, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. ²⁷ I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Lord, have blessed them, and your blessing will rest on them forever.”

David's Military Victories^(Y)

18 Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again and defeated them. He took out of their control the city of Gath and its surrounding villages. ² He also defeated the Moabites, who became his subjects and paid taxes to him.

³ Next, David attacked King Hadadezer of the Syrian state of Zobah, near the territory of Hamath, because Hadadezer was trying to gain control of the territory by the upper Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry troops, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.

⁵ When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men. ⁶ Then he set up military camps in their territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The Lord made David victorious everywhere. ⁷ David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officials and took them to Jerusalem. ^8 (Z)He also took a great quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Kun, cities ruled by Hadadezer. (Solomon later used this bronze to make the tank, the columns, and the bronze utensils for the Temple.)

⁹ King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's entire army. ¹⁰ So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram brought David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹ King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he conquered—Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.

^12 (AA)Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, defeated the Edomites in Salt Valley and killed eighteen thousand of them. ¹³ He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became King David's subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.

¹⁴ David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly. ¹⁵ Abishai's brother Joab was commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records; ¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah^[p] was court secretary; ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and King David's sons held high positions in his service.

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians^(AB)

19 Some time later King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king. ² King David said, “I must show loyal friendship to Hanun, as his father Nahash did to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy.

When they arrived in Ammon and called on King Hanun, ³ the Ammonite leaders said to the king, “Do you think that it is in your father's honor that David has sent these men to express sympathy to you? Of course not! He has sent them here as spies to explore the land, so that he can conquer it!”

⁴ Hanun seized David's messengers, shaved off their beards, cut off their clothes at the hips, and sent them away. ⁵ They were too ashamed to return home. When David heard what had happened, he sent word for them to stay in Jericho and not return until their beards had grown again.

⁶ King Hanun and the Ammonites realized that they had made David their enemy, so they paid nearly forty tons of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Upper Mesopotamia and from the Syrian states of Maacah and Zobah. ⁷ The thirty-two thousand chariots they hired and the army of the king of Maacah came and camped near Medeba. The Ammonites too came out from all their cities and got ready to fight.

⁸ When David heard what was happening, he sent out Joab and the whole army. ⁹ The Ammonites marched out and took up their position at the entrance to Rabbah, their capital city, and the kings who had come to help took up their position in the open countryside.

¹⁰ Joab saw that the enemy troops would attack him in front and from the rear, so he chose the best of Israel's soldiers and put them in position facing the Syrians. ¹¹ He placed the rest of his troops under the command of his brother Abishai, who put them in position facing the Ammonites. ¹² Joab said to him, “If you see that the Syrians are defeating me, come and help me, and if the Ammonites are defeating you, I will go and help you. ¹³ Be strong and courageous! Let's fight hard for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord's will be done.”

¹⁴ Joab and his men advanced to attack, and the Syrians fled. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw the Syrians running away, they fled from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ The Syrians realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, so they brought troops from the Syrian states on the east side of the Euphrates River and placed them under the command of Shobach, commander of the army of King Hadadezer of Zobah. ¹⁷ When David heard of it, he gathered the Israelite troops, crossed the Jordan River, and put them in position facing the Syrians. The fighting began, ¹⁸ and the Israelites drove the Syrian army back. David and his men killed seven thousand Syrian chariot drivers and forty thousand foot soldiers. They also killed the Syrian commander, Shobach. ¹⁹ When the kings who were subject to Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Syrians were never again willing to help the Ammonites.

David Captures Rabbah^(AC)

20 ^(AD)The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, Joab led out the army and invaded the land of Ammon; King David, however, stayed in Jerusalem. They besieged the city of Rabbah, attacked it, and destroyed it. ² The Ammonite idol Molech^[q] had a gold crown which weighed about seventy-five pounds. In it there was a jewel, which David took and put in his own crown. He also took a large amount of loot from the city. ³ He took the people of the city and put them to work with saws, iron hoes, and axes. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.

Battles against Philistine Giants^(AE)

⁴ Later on, war broke out again with the Philistines at Gezer. This was when Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Sippai, and the Philistines were defeated.

^5 (AF)There was another battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath, whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom.

⁶ Another battle took place at Gath, where there was a giant with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was a descendant of the ancient giants. ⁷ He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shammah, killed him.

⁸ These three, who were killed by David and his men, were descendants of the giants at Gath.

David Takes a Census^(AG)

21 Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of Israel, so he made David decide to take a census. ² David gave orders to Joab and the other officers, “Go through Israel, from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.”

³ Joab answered, “May the Lord make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now! Your Majesty, they are all your servants. Why do you want to do this and make the whole nation guilty?” ⁴ But the king made Joab obey the order. Joab went out, traveled through the whole country of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem. ⁵ He reported to King David the total number of men capable of military service: 1,100,000 in Israel and 470,000 in Judah. ⁶ Because Joab disapproved of the king's command, he did not take any census of the tribes of Levi and Benjamin.

⁷ God was displeased with what had been done, so he punished Israel. ⁸ David said to God, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.”

⁹ Then the Lord said to Gad, David's prophet, ¹⁰ “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.”

¹¹ Gad went to David, told him what the Lord had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? ¹² Three years of famine? Or three months of running away from the armies of your enemies? Or three days during which the Lord attacks you with his sword and sends an epidemic on your land, using his angel to bring death throughout Israel? What answer shall I give the Lord?”

¹³ David replied to Gad, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish me, because he is merciful.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent an epidemic on the people of Israel, and seventy thousand of them died. ¹⁵ Then he sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but he changed his mind and said to the angel, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was standing by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.

¹⁶ David saw the angel standing in midair, holding his sword in his hand, ready to destroy Jerusalem. Then David and the leaders of the people—all of whom were wearing sackcloth—bowed low, with their faces touching the ground. ¹⁷ David prayed, “O God, I am the one who did wrong. I am the one who ordered the census. What have these poor people done? Lord, my God, punish me and my family, and spare your people.”

¹⁸ The angel of the Lord told Gad to command David to go and build an altar to the Lord at Araunah's threshing place. ¹⁹ David obeyed the Lord's command and went, as Gad had told him to. ²⁰ There at the threshing place Araunah and his four sons were threshing wheat, and when they saw the angel, the sons ran and hid. ²¹ As soon as Araunah saw King David approaching, he left the threshing place and bowed low, with his face touching the ground. ²² David said to him, “Sell me your threshing place, so that I can build an altar to the Lord, to stop the epidemic. I'll give you the full price.”

²³ “Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and do whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar, and here are the threshing boards to use as fuel, and wheat to give as an offering. I give it all to you.”

²⁴ But the king answered, “No, I will pay you the full price. I will not give as an offering to the Lord something that belongs to you, something that costs me nothing.” ²⁵ And he paid Araunah six hundred gold coins for the threshing place. ²⁶ He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He prayed, and the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn the sacrifices on the altar.

²⁷ The Lord told the angel to put his sword away, and the angel obeyed. ²⁸ David saw by this that the Lord had answered his prayer, so he offered sacrifices on the altar at Araunah's threshing place. ²⁹ The Tent of the Lord's presence which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar on which sacrifices were burned were still at the place of worship at Gibeon at this time; ³⁰ but David was not able to go there to worship God, because he was afraid of the sword of the Lord's angel.

22 So David said, “This is where the Temple of the Lord God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.”

Preparations for Building the Temple

² King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. ³ He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it. ⁴ He had the people of Tyre and Sidon bring him a large number of cedar logs. ⁵ David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.

⁶ He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ^7 (AH)David said to him, “Son, I wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God. ⁸ But the Lord told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. ⁹ He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon,^[r] because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. ¹⁰ He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.’”

¹¹ David continued, “Now, son, may the Lord your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. ¹² And may the Lord your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. ^13 (AI)If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid. ¹⁴ As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated almost four thousand tons of gold and nearly forty thousand tons of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. ¹⁵ You have many workers. There are stonecutters to work in the quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of skilled workers of every sort who can work ¹⁶ with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. ¹⁸ He said, “The Lord your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the Lord. ¹⁹ Now serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the Lord and all the other sacred objects used in worshiping him.”

23 ^(AJ)When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

The Work of the Levites

² King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites. ³ He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ The king assigned twenty-four thousand to administer the work of the Temple, six thousand to keep records and decide disputes, ⁵ four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.

⁶ David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷ Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel, ⁹ who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.)^{[s] 10-11} Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.

¹² Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ^13 (AK)His oldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects forever, to burn incense in the worship of the Lord, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name. ¹⁴ But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.) ¹⁵ Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The leader among Gershom's sons was Shebuel. ¹⁷ Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

¹⁸ Kohath's second son, Izhar, had a son, Shelomith, the head of the clan. ¹⁹ Kohath's third son, Hebron, had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. ²⁰ Kohath's fourth son, Uzziel, had two sons, Micah and Isshiah.

²¹ Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. Mahli also had two sons, Eleazar and Kish, ²² but Eleazar died without having any sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. ²³ Merari's second son, Mushi, had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, every one of them registered by name. Each of his descendants, twenty years of age or older, had a share in the work of the Lord's Temple.

²⁵ David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given peace to his people, and he himself will live in Jerusalem forever. ^26 (AL)So there is no longer any need for the Levites to carry the Tent of the Lord's presence and all the equipment used in worship.” ²⁷ On the basis of David's final instructions all Levites were registered for service when they reached the age of twenty, ^28 (AM)and were assigned the following duties: to help the priests descended from Aaron with the Temple worship, to take care of its courtyards and its rooms, and to keep undefiled everything that is sacred; ²⁹ to be responsible for the bread offered to God, the flour used in offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the baked offerings, and the flour mixed with olive oil; to weigh and measure the Temple offerings; ³⁰ and to praise and glorify the Lord every morning and every evening ³¹ and whenever offerings to the Lord are burned on the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and other festivals. Rules were made specifying the number of Levites assigned to do this work each time. The Levites were assigned the duty of worshiping the Lord for all time. ³² They were given the responsibility of taking care of the Tent of the Lord's presence and the Temple, and of assisting their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, in the Temple worship.