2 Samuel 5–7

David Reigns Over All Israel

5Then all the tribes of Israel ^acame to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed ^bwe are your bone and your flesh. ²Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, ^cyou were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ^d‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” ^3eTherefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, ^fand King David made a covenant with them at Hebron ^gbefore the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴David was ^hthirty years old when he began to reign, and ⁱhe reigned forty years. ⁵In Hebron he reigned over Judah ^jseven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

The Conquest of Jerusalem

^6kAnd the king and his men went to Jerusalem against ^lthe Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” ⁷Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion ^m(that is, the City of David).

⁸Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), ⁿhe shall be chief and captain.” Therefore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”

⁹Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it ^othe City of David. And David built all around from ¹the Millo and inward. ¹⁰So David went on and became great, and ^pthe Lord God of hosts was with ^qhim.

¹¹Then ^rHiram ^sking of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. ¹²So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had ^texalted His kingdom ^ufor the sake of His people Israel.

¹³And ^vDavid took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. ¹⁴Now ^wthese are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: ²Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, ^xSolomon, ¹⁵Ibhar, ³Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

The Philistines Defeated

^17yNow when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it ^zand went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in ^athe Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹So David ^binquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

²⁰So David went to ^cBaal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place ⁴Baal Perazim. ²¹And they left their ⁵images there, and David and his men ^dcarried them away.

^22eThen the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³Therefore ^fDavid inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. ²⁴And it shall be, when you ^ghear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then ^hthe Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ²⁵And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from ⁱGeba ⁶as far as ^jGezer.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

6Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. ²And ^aDavid arose and went with all the people who were with him from ¹Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called ²by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, ^bwho dwells between the cherubim. ³So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on ^cthe hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new ³cart. ⁴And they brought it out of ^dthe house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵Then David and all the house of Israel ^eplayed music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

⁶And when they came to ^fNachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his ^ghand to the ark of God and ⁴took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his ⁵error; and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place ⁶Perez Uzzah to this day.

^9hDavid was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the ⁱCity of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the ^jGittite. ^11kThe ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord ^lblessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

¹²Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^mSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. ¹³And so it was, when ⁿthose bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed ^ooxen and fatted sheep. ¹⁴Then David ^pdanced ⁷before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing ^qa linen ephod. ^15rSo David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, ^sMichal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷So ^tthey brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^uits place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David ^voffered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^whe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ^19xThen he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone 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 today, ^zuncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the ^abase fellows ⁸shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^bwho chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the ^cpeople of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²²And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

²³Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children ^dto the day of her death.

God’s Covenant with David

7Now it came to pass ^awhen the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, ²that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in ^ba house of cedar, ^cbut the ark of God dwells inside tent ^dcurtains.”

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

⁴But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^f“Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? ⁶For I have not dwelt in a house ^gsince the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in ^ha tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷Wherever I have ⁱmoved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^jto shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ ⁸Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^k“I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. ⁹And ^lI have been with you wherever you have gone, ^mand have ¹cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ¹⁰Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will ⁿplant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; ^onor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ^11psince the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord ²tells you ^qthat He will make you a ³house.

^12r“When your days are fulfilled and you ^srest with your fathers, ^tI will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13uHe shall build a house for My name, and I will ^vestablish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14wI will be his Father, and he shall be ^xMy son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the ⁴blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵But My mercy shall not depart from him, ^yas I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶And ^zyour house and your kingdom shall be established forever before ⁵you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁷According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Thanksgiving to God

¹⁸Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: ^a“Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great…