2 Samuel 5–7

Chapter 5

David King over All Israel

^1aThen all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and ¹said, “Behold, we are ^byour bone and your flesh.

²“Previously, when Saul was king over us, ^ayou were the one who led Israel out and in. And the Lord said to you, ‘^bYou will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ^ca ruler over Israel.’ ”

³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David ^amade a covenant with them before the Lord at Hebron; then ^bthey anointed David king over Israel.

⁴David was ^athirty years old when he became king, and ^bhe reigned forty years.

⁵At Hebron ^ahe reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

^6aNow the king and his men went to ^bJerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to ¹David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away”; ²thinking, “David cannot enter here.”

⁷Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is ^athe city of David.

⁸David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.”

⁹So David lived in the stronghold and called it ^athe city of David. And David built all around from the ^1bMillo and inward.

^10aDavid became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.

^11aThen Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and ^bthey built a house for David.

¹²And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

¹³Meanwhile ^aDavid took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.

¹⁴Now ^athese are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

¹⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

¹⁶Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

War with the Philistines

¹⁷When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, ^aall the Philistines went up to seek out David; and when David heard of it, he went down to the ^bstronghold.

¹⁸Now the Philistines came and spread themselves out in ^athe valley of Rephaim.

¹⁹Then ^aDavid inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my hand?” And ^bthe Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”

²⁰So David came to ^aBaal-perazim and ¹defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place ²Baal-perazim.

²¹They abandoned their idols there, so ^aDavid and his men carried them away.

²²Now ^athe Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim.

²³When ^aDavid inquired of the Lord, He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the ¹balsam trees.

²⁴“It shall be, when ^ayou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the ¹balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then ^bthe Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

²⁵Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from ^1aGeba ²as far as ^bGezer.

Chapter 6

Peril in Moving the Ark

^1aNow David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

²And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to ^1aBaale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the ^bName, the very name of the Lord of hosts who ^cis ²enthroned above the cherubim.

³They ¹placed the ark of God on ^aa new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart.

⁴So ^athey brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark.

⁵Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel ^awere celebrating before the Lord ^bwith all kinds of instruments made of ¹fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

⁶But when they came to the ^athreshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah ^breached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it.

⁷And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and ^aGod struck him down there for ¹his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

⁸David became angry because ¹of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called ²Perez-uzzah to this day.

⁹So ^aDavid was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”

¹⁰And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of ^aObed-edom the Gittite.

¹¹Thus the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord ^ablessed Obed-edom and all his household.

The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem

¹²Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” ^aDavid went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into ^bthe city of David with gladness.

¹³And so it was, that when the ^abearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ^box and a fatling.

¹⁴And ^aDavid was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was ^1bwearing a linen ephod.

¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that ^aMichal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it ^ain its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and ^bDavid offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

¹⁸When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, ^ahe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

¹⁹Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.

²⁰But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! ^aHe uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the ^bfoolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹So David said to Michal, “^aIt was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord.

²²“I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.”

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

Chapter 7

David Plans to Build a Temple

^1aNow it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,

²that the king said to ^aNathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in ^ba house of cedar, but the ark of God ^cdwells within tent curtains.”

³Nathan said to the king, “^aGo, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴But in the same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying,

⁵“Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “^aAre you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?

⁶“For ^aI have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about ^bin a tent, even in a ¹tabernacle.

⁷“^aWherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, ^bwhich I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’

God’s Covenant with David

⁸“Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “^aI took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, ^bto be ruler over My people Israel.

⁹“^aI have been with you wherever you have gone and ^bhave cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.

¹⁰“I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and ^awill plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, ^bnor will the ¹wicked afflict them any more as formerly,

¹¹even ^afrom the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and ^bI will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that ^cthe Lord will make a house for you.

¹²“^aWhen your days are complete and you ^blie down with your fathers, ^cI will raise up your ¹descendant after you, who will come forth from ²you, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³“^aHe shall build a house for My name, and ^bI will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

¹⁴“^aI will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; ^bwhen he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,

¹⁵but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, ^aas I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

¹⁶“^aYour house and your kingdom shall endure before ¹Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁷In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer

¹⁸Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “^aWho am I, O Lord ¹God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

¹⁹“And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord God, ^afor You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And ^bthis is the ¹custom of man, O Lord God.

²⁰…