2 Samuel 5–7

5Then ^acame all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, ^bwe are thy bone and thy flesh. ²Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, ^cthou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, ^dThou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. ³So all the elders of Israel came to the king to ^eHebron; ^fand king David made a league with them in Hebron ^gbefore the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. ^4*David was thirty years old when he began to reign, ^hand he reigned forty years. ⁵In Hebron he reigned over Judah ⁱseven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

⁶And the king and his men went ^kto Jerusalem unto ^lthe Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: ^||thinking, David cannot come in hither. ⁷Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: ^mthe same is the city of David. ⁸And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to ⁿthe gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, ^ohe shall be chief and captain. ^||Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. ⁹So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from ^pMillo and inward. ¹⁰And David ^†went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. ^11qAnd ^rHiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and ^†masons: and they built David an house. ¹²And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that ^she had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.

¹³And ^tDavid took him ^umore concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. ¹⁴And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; ^||Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, ¹⁵Ibhar also, and ^||Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, ¹⁶And Elishama, and ^||Eliada, and Eliphalet.

¹⁷But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, ^wand went down to the hold. ¹⁸The Philistines also came and ^xspread themselves in ^ythe valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹And David ^zinquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. ²⁰And David came to ^aBaal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place ^||Baal-perazim. ²¹And there they left their images, and David and his men ^b||burned them. ²²And the Philistines came up yet again, and ^xspread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. ²³And when ^cDavid inquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. ²⁴And let it be, when thou ^dhearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then ^eshall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. ²⁵And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from ^||Geba until thou come to ^fGazer.

6Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. ²And ^aDavid arose, and went with all the people that were with him from ^||Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, ^||whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts ^bthat dwelleth between the cherubims. ³And they ^†set the ark of God ^cupon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in ^||Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. ⁴And they brought it out of ^dthe house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, ^†accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, ^eeven on harps, and on psalteries, and ^fon timbrels, and on cornets, and ^gon cymbals. ⁶And when they came to ^†Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah ^hput forth ⁱhis hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen ^||shook it. ⁷And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and ^jGod smote him there for his ^||error; and there he died by the ark of God. ⁸And David was displeased, because the Lord had ^†made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place ^||Perez-uzzah to this day. ⁹And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, ^kHow shall the ark of the Lord come to me? ¹⁰So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom ^lthe Gittite. ¹¹And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and ^mthe Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household.

^12*And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. ⁿSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. ¹³And it was so, that when ^othey that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed ^poxen and fatlings. ¹⁴And David ^qdanced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded ^rwith a linen ephod. ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. ¹⁶And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter ^slooked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷And ^tthey brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^uhis place, in the midst of the ^vtabernacle that David had ^†pitched for it: and David ^woffered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^xhe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. ^ySo all the people departed every one to his house. ^20yThen David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who ^zuncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the ^avain fellows ^||shamelessly uncovereth himself! ²¹And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, ^bwhich chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore ^cwill I play before the Lord. ²²And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and ^||of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. ²³Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

7And it came to pass, ^awhen the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; ²That the king said unto ^bNathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in ^can house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within ^dcurtains. ³And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is ^ein thine heart; for the Lord is with thee. ⁴And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, ⁵Go and tell ^†my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, ^fShalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? ⁶Whereas I have not dwelt in any house ^gsince the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in ^ha tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷In all the places wherein I have ⁱwalked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with ^||any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^kto feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? ⁸Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, ^lI took thee from ^mthe sheepcote, ^†from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: ⁹And ⁿI was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies ^†out of thy sight, and have made thee ^oa great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. ¹⁰Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will ^pplant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and ^qmove no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, ¹¹And as ^rsince the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have ^scaused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee ^tthat he will make thee an house. ¹²And ^uwhen thy days be fulfilled, and thou ^xshalt sleep with thy fathers, ^yI will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13zHe shall build an house for my name, and I will ^astablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. ^14bI will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he ^ccommit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: ¹⁵But my mercy shall not depart away from him, ^das I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. ¹⁶And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: ^ethy throne shall be established for ever. ¹⁷According to all these words, and according to all this ^fvision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁸Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, ^gWho am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? ¹⁹And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy…