2 Samuel 7-12

II Samuel 7

¹And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,

²that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.

³And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.

⁴And it came to pass that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying,

⁵Go and say to my servant, to David, Thus saith Jehovah: Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

⁶For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle.

⁷In all my going about with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars?

⁸And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel;

⁹and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

¹⁰And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,

¹¹and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.

¹²When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

¹⁴I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men;

¹⁵but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before thee.

¹⁶And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made firm for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

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

¹⁸And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁹And yet this hath been a small thing in thy sight, Lord Jehovah; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, Lord Jehovah?

²⁰And what can David say more to thee? for thou, Lord Jehovah, knowest thy servant.

²¹For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make thy servant know it.

²²Wherefore thou art great, Jehovah Elohim; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²³And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do for them great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thyself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

²⁴And thou hast established to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God.

²⁵And now, Jehovah Elohim, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house, fulfil it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁶And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is God over Israel; and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

²⁷For thou, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

²⁸And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

²⁹and now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it; and with thy blessing shall the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

II Samuel 8

¹And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them; and David took the power of the capital out of the hand of the Philistines.

²And he smote the Moabites, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts.

³And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion by the river Euphrates.

⁴And David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

⁶And David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

⁷And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much bronze.

⁹And Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadadezer;

¹⁰and Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him; for Hadadezer was continually at war with Toi. And he brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.

¹¹Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated of all the nations that he had subdued:

¹²of the Syrians, and of the Moabites, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of the Amalekites, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³And David made him a name when he returned, after he had smitten the Syrians in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand men.

¹⁴And he put garrisons in Edom: throughout Edom did he put garrisons; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

¹⁵And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁶And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler;

¹⁷and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was scribe;

¹⁸and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

II Samuel 9

¹And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

²And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba; and they called him to David. And the king said to him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant!

³And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame on his feet.

⁴And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

⁵And king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

⁶And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he said, Behold thy servant!

⁷And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

⁸And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

⁹Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to thy master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

¹⁰And thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat. And Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread at my table continually. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Mephibosheth said David shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.

¹²And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for he did eat continually at the king's table. And he was lame on both his feet.

II Samuel 10

¹And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.

²And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

³And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to thee?

⁴And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵And they told it to David; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

⁶And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.

⁷And David heard of it, and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men.

⁸And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

¹⁰and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.

¹¹And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

¹²Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what is good in his sight.

¹³And Joab drew near, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him.

¹⁴And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. And Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

¹⁶And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

¹⁷And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

¹⁸And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven hundred in chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

¹⁹And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

II Samuel 11

¹And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem.

²And it came to pass at evening time that David arose from off his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful;

³and David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urijah the Hittite?

⁴And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; and she had purified herself from her uncleanness; and she returned to her house.

⁵And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

⁶And David sent to Joab saying, Send me Urijah the Hittite. And Joab sent Urijah to David.

⁷And when Urijah had come to him, David asked how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

⁸And David said to Urijah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Urijah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him presents from the king.

⁹And Urijah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

¹⁰And they had told David saying, Urijah did not go down to his house; and David said to Urijah, Art thou not come from a journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

¹¹And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

¹²And David said to Urijah, Abide here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. And Urijah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow.

¹³And David invited him, and he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but did not go down to his house.

¹⁴And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by Urijah.

¹⁵And he wrote in the letter saying, Set Urijah in the front of the thickest fight, and withdraw from him, that he may be smitten and die.

¹⁶And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.

¹⁷And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab; and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David; and Urijah the Hittite died also.

¹⁸Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war;

¹⁹and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast ended telling the matters of the war to the king,

²⁰and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say to thee, Why did ye go so near to the city to fight? did ye not know that they would shoot from the wall?

²¹Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why did ye go near the wall? -- then say thou, Thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

²²And the messenger went; and he came and told David all that Joab had sent him for.

²³And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out against us into the field, and we were upon them as far as the entrance of the gate.

²⁴And the shooters shot from upon the wall against thy servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

²⁵Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another: make thy battle strong against the city, and overthrow it; -- and encourage him.

²⁶And the wife of Urijah heard that Urijah her husband was dead, and she mourned for her husband.

²⁷And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of Jehovah.

II Samuel 12

¹And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

²The rich had very many flocks and herds;

³but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb which he had bought, and was nourishing; and it grew up with him, and together with his children: it ate of his morsel, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

⁴And there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that had come to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him.

⁵Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death;

⁶and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

⁷And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man! Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

⁸and I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

⁹Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah to do evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Urijah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

¹⁰Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Urijah the Hittite to be thy wife.

¹¹Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

¹²For thou didst it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.

¹³And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah has also put away thy sin: thou shalt not die.

¹⁴Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, even the child that is born to thee shall certainly die.

¹⁵And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah smote the child that Urijah's wife bore to David, and it became very sick.

¹⁶And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.

¹⁷And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, and he ate no bread with them.

¹⁸And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice; and how shall we say to him, The child is dead? he may do some harm.

¹⁹But David saw that his servants whispered, and David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

²⁰Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing, and entered into the house of Jehovah and worshipped; then he came to his own house and required them to set bread before him, and he ate.

²¹And his servants said to him, What thing is this which thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child alive; but as soon as the child is dead, thou dost rise and eat bread.

²²And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows? perhaps Jehovah will be gracious to me, that the child may live.

²³But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

²⁴And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon; and Jehovah loved him.

²⁵And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, for Jehovah's sake.

²⁶And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

²⁷And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

²⁸And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city and take it: lest I take the city and it be called by my name.

²⁹And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and took it.

³⁰And he took the crown of their king from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with the precious stones; and it was set on David's head; and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

³¹And he brought out the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkilns. And so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.