2 Samuel 7-12

II Samuel 7

¹And it cometh to pass, when the king sat in his house, and Jehovah hath given rest to him round about, from all his enemies,

²that the king saith unto Nathan the prophet, ‘See, I pray thee, I am dwelling in a house of cedars, and the ark of God is dwelling in the midst of the curtain.'

³And Nathan saith unto the king, ‘All that is in thine heart -- go, do, for Jehovah is with thee.'

⁴And it cometh to pass in that night, that the word of Jehovah is unto Nathan, saying,

⁵‘Go, and thou hast said unto My servant, unto David, Thus said Jehovah, Dost thou build for Me a house for My dwelling in?

⁶for I have not dwelt in a house even from the day of My bringing up the sons of Israel out of Egypt, even unto this day, and am walking up and down in a tent and in a tabernacle.

⁷During all the time that I have walked up and down among all the sons of Israel, a word have I spoken with one of the tribes of Israel which I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have ye not built to Me a house of cedars?

⁸and now, thus dost thou say to My servant, to David: ‘Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have taken thee from the comely place, from after the flock, to be leader over My people, over Israel;

⁹and I am with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and I cut off all thine enemies from thy presence, and have made for thee a great name, as the name of the great ones who are in the earth,

¹⁰and I have appointed a place for My people, for Israel, and have planted it, and it hath tabernacled in its place, and it is not troubled any more, and the sons of perverseness do not add to afflict it any more, as in the beginning,

¹¹even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I have given rest to thee from all thine enemies, and Jehovah hath declared to thee that Jehovah doth make for thee a house.

¹²‘When thy days are full, and thou hast lain with thy fathers, then I have raised up thy seed after thee which goeth out from thy bowels, and have established his kingdom;

¹³He doth build a house for My Name, and I have established the throne of his kingdom unto the age.

¹⁴I am to him for a father, and he is to Me for a son; whom in his dealings perversely I have even reproved with a rod of men, and with strokes of the sons of Adam,

¹⁵and My kindness doth not turn aside from him, as I turned it aside from Saul, whom I turned aside from before thee,

¹⁶and stedfast is thy house and thy kingdom unto the age before thee, thy throne is established unto the age.'

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

¹⁸And king David cometh in and sitteth before Jehovah, and saith, ‘Who am I, Lord Jehovah? and what my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁹And yet this is little in Thine eyes, Lord Jehovah, and Thou dost speak also concerning the house of Thy servant afar off; and this is the law of the Man, Lord Jehovah.

²⁰And what doth David add more to speak unto Thee? and Thou, Thou hast known Thy servant, Lord Jehovah.

²¹Because of Thy word, and according to Thy heart, Thou hast done all this greatness, to cause Thy servant to know it.

²²Therefore Thou hast been great, Jehovah God, for there is none like Thee, and there is no God save Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²³‘And who is as Thy people, as Israel -- one nation in the earth, whom God hath gone to redeem to Him for a people, and to make for Him a name -- and to do for you the greatness -- even fearful things for Thy land, at the presence of Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed to Thee out of Egypt -- among the nations and their gods?

²⁴Yea, Thou dost establish to Thee Thy people Israel, to Thee for a people unto the age, and Thou, Jehovah, hast been to them for God.

²⁵‘And now, Jehovah God, the word which Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant, and concerning his house, establish unto the age, and do as Thou hast spoken;

²⁶And Thy Name is great unto the age, saying, Jehovah of Hosts is God over Israel, and the house of Thy servant David is established before Thee,

²⁷For Thou, Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Thou hast uncovered the ear of Thy servant, saying, A house I build for thee, therefore hath Thy servant found his heart to pray unto Thee this prayer;

²⁸And now, Lord Jehovah, Thou art God Himself, and Thy words are truth, and Thou speakest unto Thy servant this goodness,

²⁹And now, begin and bless the house of Thy servant, to be unto the age before Thee, for Thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken, and by Thy blessing is the house of Thy servant blessed -- to the age.'

II Samuel 8

¹And it cometh to pass afterwards that David smiteth the Philistines, and humbleth them, and David taketh the bridle of the metropolis out of the hand of the Philistines.

²And he smiteth Moab, and measureth them with a line, causing them to lie down on the earth, and he measureth two lines to put to death, and the fulness of the line to keep alive, and the Moabites are to David for servants, bearers of a present.

³And David smiteth Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, in his going to bring back his power by the River Euphrates;

⁴and David captureth from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David destroyeth utterly the whole of the charioteers, only he leaveth of them a hundred charioteers.

⁵And Aram of Damascus cometh to give help to Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David smiteth of Aram twenty and two thousand men;

⁶and David putteth garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and Aram is to David for a servant, bearing a present; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone;

⁷and David taketh the shields of gold which were on the servants of Hadadezer, and bringeth them to Jerusalem;

⁸and from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, hath king David taken very much brass.

⁹And Toi king of Hamath heareth that David hath smitten all the force of Hadadezer,

¹⁰and Toi sendeth Joram his son unto king David to ask of him of welfare, and to bless him, (because that he hath fought against Hadadezer, and smiteth him, for a man of wars with Toi had Hadadezer been), and in his hand have been vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass,

¹¹also them did king David sanctify to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold which he sanctified of all the nations which he subdued:

¹²of Aram, and of Moab, and of the Bene-Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob king of Zobah.

¹³And David maketh a name in his turning back from his smiting Aram in the valley of Salt -- eighteen thousand;

¹⁴and he putteth in Edom garrisons -- in all Edom he hath put garrisons, and all Edom are servants to David; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone.

¹⁵And David reigneth over all Israel, and David is doing judgment and righteousness to all his people,

¹⁶and Joab son of Zeruiah is over the host, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud is remembrancer,

¹⁷and Zadok son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech son of Abiathar, are priests, and Seraiah is scribe,

¹⁸and Benaiah son of Jehoiada is over both the Cherethite and the Pelethite, and the sons of David have been ministers.

II Samuel 9

¹And David saith, ‘Is there yet any left to the house of Saul, and I do with him kindness because of Jonathan?'

²And the house of Saul hath a servant, and his name is Ziba, and they call for him unto David; and the king saith unto him, ‘Art thou Ziba?' and he saith, ‘Thy servant.'

³And the king saith, ‘Is there not yet a man to the house of Saul, and I do with him the kindness of God?' And Ziba saith unto the king, ‘Jonathan hath yet a son -- lame.'

⁴And the king saith to him, ‘Where is he?' and Ziba saith unto the king, ‘Lo, he is in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lo-Debar.'

⁵And king David sendeth, and taketh him out of the house of Machir son of Ammiel, of Lo-Debar,

⁶and Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, cometh unto David, and falleth on his face, and doth obeisance, and David saith, ‘Mephibosheth;' and he saith, ‘Lo, thy servant.'

⁷And David saith to him, ‘Be not afraid; for I certainly do with thee kindness because of Jonathan thy father, and have given back to thee all the field of Saul thy father, and thou dost eat bread at my table continually.'

⁸And he boweth himself, and saith, ‘What is thy servant, that thou hast turned unto the dead dog -- such as I?'

⁹And the king calleth unto Ziba servant of Saul, and saith unto him, ‘All that was to Saul and to all his house, I have given to the son of thy lord,

¹⁰and thou hast served for him the land, thou and thy sons, and thy servants, and hast brought in, and there hath been to the son of thy lord bread, and he hath eaten it; and Mephibosheth son of thy lord doth eat continually bread at my table;' and Ziba hath fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹And Ziba saith unto the king, ‘According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so doth thy servant;' as to Mephibosheth, ‘he is eating at my table (saith the king) as one of the sons of the king.'

¹²And Mephibosheth hath a young son, and his name is Micha, and every one dwelling in the house of Ziba are servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³And Mephibosheth is dwelling in Jerusalem, for at the table of the king he is eating continually, and he is lame of his two feet.

II Samuel 10

¹And it cometh to pass afterwards, that the king of the Bene-Ammon dieth, and Hanun his son reigneth in his stead,

²and David saith, ‘I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and the servants of David come in to the land of the Bene-Ammon.

³And the heads of the Bene-Ammon say unto Hanun their lord, ‘Is David honouring thy father in thine eyes because he hath sent to thee comforters? for to search the city, and to spy it, and to overthrow it, hath not David sent his servants unto thee?'

⁴And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth off the half of their beard, and cutteth off their long robes in the midst -- unto their buttocks, and sendeth them away;

⁵and they declare it to David, and he sendeth to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and the king saith, ‘Abide in Jericho till your beard doth spring up -- then ye have returned.'

⁶And the Bene-Ammon see that they have been abhorred by David, and the Bene-Ammon send and hire Aram of Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and Ish-Tob with twelve thousand men;

⁷and David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host -- the mighty men.

⁸And the Bene-Ammon come out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, are by themselves in the field;

⁹and Joab seeth that the front of the battle hath been unto him before and behind, and he chooseth of all the chosen in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram,

¹⁰and the rest of the people he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and setteth in array to meet the Bene-Ammon.

¹¹And he saith, ‘If Aram be stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation, and if the Bene-Ammon be stronger than thou, then I have come to give salvation to thee;

¹²be strong and strengthen thyself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that which is good in His eyes.'

¹³And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who are with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence;

¹⁴and the Bene-Ammon have seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go in to the city; and Joab turneth back from the Bene-Ammon, and cometh in to Jerusalem.

¹⁵And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together;

¹⁶and Hadadezer sendeth, and bringeth out Aram which is beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer is before them.

¹⁷And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him;

¹⁸and Aram fleeth from the presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he dieth there.

¹⁹And all the kings -- servants of Hadadezer -- see that they have been smitten before Israel, and make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help any more the Bene-Ammon.

II Samuel 11

¹And it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the year -- at the time of the going out of the messengers -- that David sendeth Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroy the Bene-Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah. And David is dwelling in Jerusalem,

²and it cometh to pass, at evening-time, that David riseth from off his couch, and walketh up and down on the roof of the king's house, and seeth from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman is of very good appearance,

³and David sendeth and inquireth about the woman, and saith, ‘Is not this Bath-Sheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?'

⁴And David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her -- and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness -- and she turneth back unto her house;

⁵and the woman conceiveth, and sendeth, and declareth to David, and saith, ‘I am conceiving.'

⁶And David sendeth unto Joab, ‘Send unto me Uriah the Hittite,' and Joab sendeth Uriah unto David;

⁷and Uriah cometh unto him, and David asketh of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the people, and of the prosperity of the war.

⁸And David saith to Uriah, ‘Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet;' and Uriah goeth out of the king's house, and there goeth out after him a gift from the king,

⁹and Uriah lieth down at the opening of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and hath not gone down unto his house.

¹⁰And they declare to David, saying, ‘Uriah hath not gone down unto his house;' and David saith unto Uriah, ‘Hast thou not come from a journey? wherefore hast thou not gone down unto thy house?'

¹¹And Uriah saith unto David, ‘The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in booths, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field are encamping; and I -- I go in unto my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife! -- thy life, and the life of thy soul -- if I do this thing.'

¹²And David saith unto Uriah, ‘Abide in this place also to-day, and to-morrow I send thee away;' and Uriah abideth in Jerusalem, on that day, and on the morrow,

¹³and David calleth for him, and he eateth before him, and drinketh, and he causeth him to drink, and he goeth out in the evening to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, and unto his house he hath not gone down.

¹⁴And it cometh to pass in the morning, that David writeth a letter unto Joab, and sendeth by the hand of Uriah;

¹⁵and he writeth in the letter, saying, ‘Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle, and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath died.'

¹⁶And it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men are;

¹⁷and the men of the city go out and fight with Joab, and there fall some of the people, of the servants of David; and there dieth also Uriah the Hittite.

¹⁸And Joab sendeth and declareth to David all the matters of the war,

¹⁹and commandeth the messenger, saying, ‘At thy finishing all the matters of the war to speak unto the king,

²⁰then, it hath been, if the king's fury ascend, and he hath said to thee, Wherefore did ye draw nigh unto the city to fight? did ye not know that they shoot from off the wall?

²¹Who smote Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast on him a piece of a rider from the wall, and he dieth in Thebez? why drew ye nigh unto the wall? that thou hast said, Also thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'

²²And the messenger goeth, and cometh in, and declareth to David all that with which Joab sent him,

²³and the messenger saith unto David, ‘Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate,

²⁴and those shooting shoot at thy servants from off the wall, and some of the servants of the king are dead, and also, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.

²⁵And David saith unto the messenger, ‘Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against the city, and throw it down -- and strengthen thou him.'

²⁶And the wife of Uriah heareth that Uriah her husband is dead, and lamenteth for her lord;

²⁷and the mourning passeth by, and David sendeth and gathereth her unto his house, and she is to him for a wife, and beareth to him a son; and the thing which David hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah.

II Samuel 12

¹And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: ‘Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;

²The rich hath flocks and herds very many;

³And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;

⁴And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'

⁵And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, ‘Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death is the man who is doing this,

⁶and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'

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

⁸and I give to thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such and such things.

⁹‘Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.

¹⁰‘And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;

¹¹thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before the eyes of this sun;

¹²for thou hast done it in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'

¹³And David saith unto Nathan, ‘I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, ‘Also -- Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;

¹⁴only, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'

¹⁵And Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;

¹⁶and David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.

¹⁷And the elders of his house rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he hath not been willing, nor hath he eaten with them bread;

¹⁸and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the lad dieth, and the servants of David fear to declare to him that the lad is dead, for they said, ‘Lo, in the lad being alive we spake unto him, and he did not hearken to our voice; and how do we say unto him, The lad is dead? -- then he hath done evil.'

¹⁹And David seeth that his servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and David saith unto his servants, ‘Is the lad dead?' and they say, ‘Dead.'

²⁰And David riseth from the earth, and doth bathe and anoint himself, and changeth his raiment, and cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and boweth himself, and cometh unto his house, and asketh and they place for him bread, and he eateth.

²¹And his servants say unto him, ‘What is this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat bread.'

²²And he saith, ‘While the lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? -- Jehovah doth pity me, and the lad hath lived;

²³and now, he hath died, why is this -- I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him, and he doth not turn back unto me.'

²⁴And David comforteth Bath-Sheba his wife, and goeth in unto her, and lieth with her, and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Solomon; and Jehovah hath loved him,

²⁵and sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.

²⁶And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,

²⁷and Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, ‘I have fought against Rabbah -- also I have captured the city of waters;

²⁸and now, gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city, and my name hath been called upon it.'

²⁹And David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;

³⁰and he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight is a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;

³¹and the people who are in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.