DAVID (PART 1)


Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New 
York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

2SA 3:21  Then Abner said to David, "Let me go at once and assemble all 
Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a compact with you, and 
that you may rule over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner 
away, and he went in peace.

23  When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner 
son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and 
that he had gone in peace.

24  So Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner 
came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone!

32  They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb. 
All the people wept also.

33  The king sang this lament for Abner: "Should Abner have died as the 
lawless die?

36  All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king 
did pleased them.

37  So on that day all the people and all Israel knew that the king had no 
part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

38  Then the king said to his men, "Do you not realize that a prince and a 
great man has fallen in Israel this day?

4:8  They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to 
the king, "Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who 
tried to take your life. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king 
against Saul and his offspring."

5:3  When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the 
king made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed 
David king over Israel.

6  The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who 
lived there. The Jebusites said to David, "You will not get in here; even 
the blind and the lame can ward you off." They thought, "David cannot get 
in here."

6:20  When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of 
Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has 
distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of 
his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

7:1  After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him 
rest from all his enemies around him,

2  he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, 
while the ark of God remains in a tent."

3  Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do 
it, for the LORD is with you."

9:2  Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called 
him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "Your 
servant," he replied.

3  The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom 
I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son 
of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet."

4  "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of 
Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."

9  Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have 
given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his 
family.

11  Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do whatever my lord the 
king commands his servant to do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like 
one of the king's sons.

13  And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the 
king's table, and he was crippled in both feet.

10:1  In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son 
Hanun succeeded him as king.

5  When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for 
they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your 
beards have grown, and then come back."

11:2  One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof 
of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very 
beautiful,

8  Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So 
Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.

9  But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's 
servants and did not go down to his house.

19  He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king 
this account of the battle,

20  the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so 
close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from 
the wall?

24  Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some 
of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."

13:4  He asked Amnon, "Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning 
after morning? Won't you tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with 
Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."

6  So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see 
him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some 
special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand."

13  What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about 
you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to 
the king; he will not keep me from being married to you."

18  So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was 
wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the 
virgin daughters of the king wore.

23  Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near 
the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to come there.

24  Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had shearers come. 
Will the king and his officials please join me?"

25  "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go; we would only 
be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, 
but gave him his blessing.

26  Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us." 
The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?"

27  But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the 
king's sons.

29  So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the 
king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.

30  While they were on their way, the report came to David: "Absalom has 
struck down all the king's sons; not one of them is left."

31  The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all 
his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

32  But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, "My lord should not 
think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been 
Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister 
Tamar.

33  My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the 
king's sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead."

35  Jonadab said to the king, "See, the king's sons are here; it has 
happened just as your servant said."

36  As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The 
king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly.

14:1  Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom.

3  Then go to the king and speak these words to him." And Joab put the 
words in her mouth.

4  When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to 
the ground to pay him honor, and she said, "Help me, O king!"

5  The king asked her, "What is troubling you?" She said, "I am indeed a 
widow; my husband is dead.

8  The king said to the woman, "Go home, and I will issue an order in your 
behalf."

9  But the woman from Tekoa said to him, "My lord the king, let the blame 
rest on me and on my father's family, and let the king and his throne be 
without guilt."

10  The king replied, "If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and 
he will not bother you again."

11  She said, "Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the 
avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be 
destroyed." "As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "not one hair of your 
son's head will fall to the ground."

12  Then the woman said, "Let your servant speak a word to my lord the 
king." "Speak," he replied.

13  The woman said, "Why then have you devised a thing like this against 
the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, 
for the king has not brought back his banished son?

15  "And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people 
have made me afraid. Your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king; 
perhaps he will do what his servant asks.

16  Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the 
man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God 
gave us.'

17  "And now your servant says, 'May the word of my lord the king bring me 
rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and 
evil. May the LORD your God be with you.'"

18  Then the king said to the woman, "Do not keep from me the answer to 
what I am going to ask you." "Let my lord the king speak," the woman said.

19  The king asked, "Isn't the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The 
woman answered, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn 
to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it 
was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these 
words into the mouth of your servant.

21  The king said to Joab, "Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the 
young man Absalom."

22  Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed 
the king. Joab said, "Today your servant knows that he has found favor in 
your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant's 
request."

24  But the king said, "He must go to his own house; he must not see my 
face." So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the 
king.

26  Whenever he cut the hair of his head--he used to cut his hair from time 
to time when it became too heavy for him--he would weigh it, and its weight 
was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.

28  Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king's face.

29  Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab 
refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come.

32  Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent word to you and said, 'Come here so 
I can send you to the king to ask, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would 
be better for me if I were still there!" 'Now then, I want to see the 
king's face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death."

33  So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned 
Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before 
the king. And the king kissed Absalom.

15:2  He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to 
the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before 
the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you 
from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel."

3  Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, 
but there is no representative of the king to hear you."

6  Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the 
king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

7  At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron 
and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.

9  The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.

15  The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do 
whatever our lord the king chooses."

16  The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left 
ten concubines to take care of the palace.

17  So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted 
at a place some distance away.

18  All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and 
Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from 
Gath marched before the king.

19  The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come along with us? 
Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your 
homeland.

21  But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as my 
lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means 
life or death, there will your servant be."

23  The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king 
also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the 
desert.

25  Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. 
If I find favor in the LORD'S eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it 
and his dwelling place again.

27  The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Go back to 
the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You 
and Abiathar take your two sons with you.

35  Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them 
anything you hear in the king's palace.

16:2  The king asked Ziba, "Why have you brought these?" Ziba answered, 
"The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and fruit 
are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become 
exhausted in the desert."

3  The king then asked, "Where is your master's grandson?" Ziba said to 
him, "He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, 'Today the house of 
Israel will give me back my grandfather's kingdom.'"

4  Then the king said to Ziba, "All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now 
yours." "I humbly bow," Ziba said. "May I find favor in your eyes, my lord 
the king."

9  Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog 
curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head."

10  But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of 
Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, 'Curse David,' who 
can ask, 'Why do you do this?'"

14  The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination 
exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

16  Then Hushai the Arkite, David's friend, went to Absalom and said to 
him, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"

17:2  I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him 
with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike 
down only the king

16  Now send a message immediately and tell David, 'Do not spend the night 
at the fords in the desert; cross over without fail, or the king and all 
the people with him will be swallowed up.'"

18:2  David sent the troops out--a third under the command of Joab, a third 
under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the 
Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out with 
you."

4  The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you." So the king 
stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds 
and of thousands.

5  The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young 
man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders 
concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.

12  But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into 
my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's son. In our hearing 
the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, 'Protect the young man 
Absalom for my sake.'

13  And if I had put my life in jeopardy--and nothing is hidden from the 
king--you would have kept your distance from me."

18  During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the 
King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I have no son to 
carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it 
is called Absalom's Monument to this day.

19  Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the news to the 
king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his enemies."

20  "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told him. "You may 
take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the 
king's son is dead."

21  Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." 
The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.

25  The watchman called out to the king and reported it. The king said, "If 
he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and closer.

26  Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the 
gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!" The king said, "He must be 
bringing good news, too."

27  The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz 
son of Zadok." "He's a good man," the king said. "He comes with good news."

28  Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He bowed down 
before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Praise be to the 
LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against 
my lord the king."

29  The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "I 
saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king's servant and 
me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."

30  The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped aside and 
stood there.

31  Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good 
news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you."

32  The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" The 
Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up 
to harm you be like that young man."

33  The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. 
As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I 
had died instead of you--O Absalom, my son, my son!"

19:1  Joab was told, "The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom."

2  And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, 
because on that day the troops heard it said, "The king is grieving for his 
son."

4  The king covered his face and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, 
my son, my son!"

5  Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, "Today you have 
humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of 
your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines.

8  So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were 
told, "The king is sitting in the gateway," they all came before him. 
Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes.

9  Throughout the tribes of Israel, the people were all arguing with each 
other, saying, "The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies; he is 
the one who rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. But now he has 
fled the country because of Absalom;

10  and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle. So 
why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?"

11  King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: "Ask 
the elders of Judah, 'Why should you be the last to bring the king back to 
his palace, since what is being said throughout Israel has reached the king 
at his quarters?

12  You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the 
last to bring back the king?'

14  He won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one 
man. They sent word to the king, "Return, you and all your men."

15  Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan. Now the men of 
Judah had come to Gilgal to go out and meet the king and bring him across 
the Jordan.

17  With him were a thousand Benjamites, along with Ziba, the steward of 
Saul's household, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed to 
the Jordan, where the king was.

18  They crossed at the ford to take the king's household over and to do 
whatever he wished. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell 
prostrate before the king

19  and said to him, "May my lord not hold me guilty. Do not remember how 
your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the 
king put it out of his mind.

20  For I your servant know that I have sinned, but today I have come here 
as the first of the whole house of Joseph to come down and meet my lord the 
king."

23  So the king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." And the king promised 
him on oath.

24  Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had 
not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes 
from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.

25  When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, "Why 
didn't you go with me, Mephibosheth?"

26  He said, "My lord the king, since I your servant am lame, I said, 'I 
will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the 
king.' But Ziba my servant betrayed me.

27  And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king 
is like an angel of God; so do whatever pleases you.

28  All my grandfather's descendants deserved nothing but death from my 
lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who sat at 
your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?"

29  The king said to him, "Why say more? I order you and Ziba to divide the 
fields."

30  Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him take everything, now that my 
lord the king has arrived home safely."

31  Barzillai the Gileadite also came down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan 
with the king and to send him on his way from there.

32  Now Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years of age. He had provided 
for the king during his stay in Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.

33  The king said to Barzillai, "Cross over with me and stay with me in 
Jerusalem, and I will provide for you."

34  But Barzillai answered the king, "How many more years will I live, that 
I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?

35  I am now eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between what is 
good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats and drinks? Can I 
still hear the voices of men and women singers? Why should your servant be 
an added burden to my lord the king?

36  Your servant will cross over the Jordan with the king for a short 
distance, but why should the king reward me in this way?

37  Let your servant return, that I may die in my own town near the tomb of 
my father and mother. But here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over 
with my lord the king. Do for him whatever pleases you."

38  The king said, "Kimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him 
whatever pleases you. And anything you desire from me I will do for you."

39  So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. 
The king kissed Barzillai and gave him his blessing, and Barzillai returned 
to his home.

40  When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham crossed with him. All the 
troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel had taken the king over.

41  Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, 
"Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him 
and his household across the Jordan, together with all his men?"

42  All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "We did this because 
the king is closely related to us. Why are you angry about it? Have we 
eaten any of the king's provisions? Have we taken anything for ourselves?"

43  Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, "We have ten shares 
in the king; and besides, we have a greater claim on David than you have. 
So why do you treat us with contempt? Were we not the first to speak of 
bringing back our king?" But the men of Judah responded even more harshly 
than the men of Israel.

20:3  When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten 
concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house 
under guard. He provided for them, but did not lie with them. They were 
kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows.

4  Then the king said to Amasa, "Summon the men of Judah to come to me 
within three days, and be here yourself."

21  That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bicri, from the hill 
country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. 
Hand over this one man, and I'll withdraw from the city." The woman said to 
Joab, "His head will be thrown to you from the wall."

22  Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they 
cut off the head of Sheba son of Bicri and threw it to Joab. So he sounded 
the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each returning to his 
home. And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem.

21:2  The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the 
Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; 
the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and 
Judah had tried to annihilate them.)

5  They answered the king, "As for the man who destroyed us and plotted 
against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in 
Israel,

6  let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and 
exposed before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul--the Lord's chosen one." So the 
king said, "I will give them to you."

7  The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because 
of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

8  But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah's 
daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of 
Saul's daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the 
Meholathite.

14  They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of 
Saul's father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king 
commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.

24:2  So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, "Go 
throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the 
fighting men, so that I may know how many there are."

3  But Joab replied to the king, "May the LORD your God multiply the troops 
a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why 
does my lord the king want to do such a thing?"

4  The king's word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so 
they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

9  Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel 
there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, 
and in Judah five hundred thousand.

20  When Araunah looked and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he 
went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

21  Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" "To buy 
your threshing floor," David answered, "so I can build an altar to the 
LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped."

22  Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him 
and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are 
threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

23  O king, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, 
"May the LORD your God accept you."

24  But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I 
will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me 
nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty 
shekels of silver for them.

1KI 1:2  So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin to 
attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our 
lord the king may keep warm."

3  Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found 
Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

4  The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on 
him, but the king had no intimate relations with her.

9  Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone 
of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, 
and all the men of Judah who were royal officials,

14  While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and 
confirm what you have said."

15  So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the 
Shunammite was attending him.

16  Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king. "What is it you want?" 
the king asked.

18  But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not 
know about it.

19  He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, 
and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the 
commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

20  My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you 
who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

21  Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his 
fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals."

22  While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived.

23  And they told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." So he went before 
the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

25  Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened 
calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of 
the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking 
with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

27  Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his 
servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"

28  Then King David said, "Call in Bathsheba." So she came into the king's 
presence and stood before him.

29  The king then took an oath: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has 
delivered me out of every trouble,

31  Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling 
before the king, said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

32  King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and 
Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they came before the king,

33  he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my 
son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.

36  Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD, the God 
of my lord the king, so declare it.

37  As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to 
make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!"

44  The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, 
Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have 
put him on the king's mule,

47  Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King 
David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours and 
his throne greater than yours!' And the king bowed in worship on his bed

48  and said, 'Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has allowed my 
eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'"

1CH 11:3  When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, 
he made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed 
David king over Israel, as the LORD had promised through Samuel.

17:16  Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who 
am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

18:17  Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and 
David's sons were chief officials at the king's side.

19:5  When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to 
meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at 
Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back."

21:3  But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times 
over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my 
lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"

4  The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went 
throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.

6  But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the 
king's command was repulsive to him.

23  Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever 
pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the 
threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I 
will give all this."

24:6  The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names 
in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, 
Ahimelech son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of 
the Levites--one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

31  They also cast lots, just as their brothers the descendants of Aaron 
did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads 
of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest 
brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

25:2  From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The 
sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the 
king's supervision.

5  All these were sons of Heman the king's seer. They were given him 
through the promises of God to exalt him. God gave Heman fourteen sons and 
three daughters.

6  All these men were under the supervision of their fathers for the music 
of the temple of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry 
at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision 
of the king.

26:26  Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for 
the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the 
commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army 
commanders.

30  From the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives--seventeen hundred 
able men--were responsible in Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of 
the LORD and for the king's service.

32  Jeriah had twenty-seven hundred relatives, who were able men and heads 
of families, and King David put them in charge of the Reubenites, the 
Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God 
and for the affairs of the king.

27:1  This is the list of the Israelites--heads of families, commanders of 
thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the 
king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by 
month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men.

25  Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses. Jonathan 
son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, 
in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers.

32  Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a 
scribe. Jehiel son of Hacmoni took care of the king's sons.

33  Ahithophel was the king's counselor. Hushai the Arkite was the king's 
friend.

34  Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. 
Joab was the commander of the royal army.

28:1  David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: 
the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the 
service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of 
hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock 
belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the 
mighty men and all the brave warriors.

2  King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my 
people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the 
ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made 
plans to build it.

29:1  Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one 
whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because 
this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.

6  Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the 
commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in 
charge of the king's work gave willingly.

9  The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they 
had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also 
rejoiced greatly.

29  As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they 
are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the 
prophet and the records of Gad the seer,

2CH 2:12  And Hiram added: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who 
made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with 
intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the LORD and a 
palace for himself.

7:6  The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD'S 
musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and 
which were used when he gave thanks, saying, "His love endures forever." 
Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the 
Israelites were standing.

23:3  the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of 
God. Jehoiada said to them, "The king's son shall reign, as the LORD 
promised concerning the descendants of David.

                              DAVID (PART 2)


Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New 
York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

RTH 4:22  Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

1SA 16:11  So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is 
still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel 
said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."

12  So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance 
and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the 
one."

18  One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem 
who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks 
well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."

21  David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, 
and David became one of his armor-bearers.

23  Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp 
and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the 
evil spirit would leave him.

17:14  David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul,

20  Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up 
and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was 
going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.

22  David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle 
lines and greeted his brothers.

23  As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from 
Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David 
heard it.

26  David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man 
who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is 
this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living 
God?"

31  What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for 
him.

32  David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this 
Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

33  Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and 
fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his 
youth."

34  But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's 
sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,

35  I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When 
it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.

36  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised 
Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of 
the living God.

37  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the 
bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, 
"Go, and the LORD be with you."

41  Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept 
coming closer to David.

42  He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and 
handsome, and he despised him.

45  David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear 
and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the 
God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

48  As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward 
the battle line to meet him.

49  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck 
the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he 
fell facedown on the ground.

51  David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword 
and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head 
with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they 
turned and ran.

57  As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him 
and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's 
head.

58  "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. David said, "I am the 
son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."

18:1  After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in 
spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

2  From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his 
father's house.

5  Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul 
gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's 
officers as well.

6  When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, 
the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with 
singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes.

7  As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his 
tens of thousands."

8  Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David 
with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more 
can he get but the kingdom?"

9  And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

10  The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was 
prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually 
did. Saul had a spear in his hand

11  and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But 
David eluded him twice.

12  Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left 
Saul.

16  But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their 
campaigns.

17  Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her 
to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the 
LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let 
the Philistines do that!"

18  But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's 
clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?"

19  So when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, 
she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

20  Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told 
Saul about it, he was pleased.

21  "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to 
him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul 
said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."

22  Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 
'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now 
become his son-in-law.'"

23  They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is 
a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and 
little known."

25  Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the 
bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his 
enemies.'" Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the 
Philistines.

27  David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He 
brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that 
he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter 
Michal in marriage.

29  Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the 
rest of his days.

30  The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often 
as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, 
and his name became well known.

19:1  Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But 
Jonathan was very fond of David

2  and warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be 
on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there.

4  Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let 
not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and 
what he has done has benefited you greatly.

6  Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: "As surely as the LORD 
lives, David will not be put to death."

7  So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought 
him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.

8  Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. 
He struck them with such force that they fled before him.

9  But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his 
house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp,

10  Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him 
as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his 
escape.

12  So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.

14  When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He is ill."

15  Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, "Bring him up 
to me in his bed so that I may kill him."

18  When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and 
told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth 
and stayed there.

20:1  Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, 
"What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that 
he is trying to take my life?"

3  But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I 
have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, 'Jonathan must 
not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the LORD lives and 
as you live, there is only a step between me and death."

5  So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am 
supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until 
the evening of the day after tomorrow.

6  If your father misses me at all, tell him, 'David earnestly asked my 
permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice 
is being made there for his whole clan.'

15  and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family--not even when the 
LORD has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

16  So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the 
LORD call David's enemies to account."

17  And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because 
he loved him as he loved himself.

24  So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival came, the 
king sat down to eat.

27  But the next day, the second day of the month, David's place was empty 
again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse 
come to the meal, either yesterday or today?"

28  Jonathan answered, "David earnestly asked me for permission to go to 
Bethlehem.

35  In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with 
David. He had a small boy with him,

39  (The boy knew nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.)

41  After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone 
and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. 
Then they kissed each other and wept together--but David wept the most.

42  Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with 
each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between 
you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then 
David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

21:1  David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when 
he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"

2  David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain 
matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and 
your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain 
place.

10  That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

11  But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of 
the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances: "'Saul has 
slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"

12  David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king 
of Gath.

22:1  David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers 
and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there.

5  But the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go 
into the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

6  Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul, 
spear in hand, was seated under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, 
with all his officials standing around him.

22  Then David said to Abiathar: "That day, when Doeg the Edomite was 
there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death 
of your father's whole family.

23:2  he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these 
Philistines?" The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save 
Keilah."

3  But David's men said to him, "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much 
more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"

4  Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go 
down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand."

5  So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried 
off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved 
the people of Keilah.

8  And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to 
besiege David and his men.

9  When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to 
Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod."

10  David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely 
that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me.

12  Again David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men 
to Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will."

13  So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept 
moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from 
Keilah, he did not go there.

14  David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert 
of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David 
into his hands.

15  While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul 
had come out to take his life.

16  And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find 
strength in God.

17  "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. 
You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father 
Saul knows this."

24  So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men 
were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.

26  Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men 
were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his 
forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them,

29  And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

24:2  So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to 
look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

3  He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went 
in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.

4  The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I 
will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" 
Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

5  Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of 
his robe.

7  With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack 
Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

8  Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the 
king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself 
with his face to the ground.

9  He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, 'David is bent on 
harming you'?

17  "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, 
but I have treated you badly.

22  So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and 
his men went up to the stronghold.

25:1  Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and 
they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert 
of Maon.

4  While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.

5  So he sent ten young men and said to them, "Go up to Nabal at Carmel and 
greet him in my name.

13  David said to his men, "Put on your swords!" So they put on their 
swords, and David put on his. About four hundred men went up with David, 
while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

21  David had just said, "It's been useless--all my watching over this 
fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has 
paid me back evil for good.

22  May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave 
alive one male of all who belong to him!"

32  David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who 
has sent you today to meet me.

35  Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, 
"Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request."

39  When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Praise be to the LORD, 
who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has 
kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal's wrongdoing down 
on his own head." Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his 
wife.

43  David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his 
wives.

44  But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel son of 
Laish, who was from Gallim.

26:3  Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah facing 
Jeshimon, but David stayed in the desert. When he saw that Saul had 
followed him there,

4  he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived.

5  Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw 
where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army, had lain down. 
Saul was lying inside the camp, with the army encamped around him.

6  David then asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, 
Joab's brother, "Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?" "I'll go 
with you," said Abishai.

7  So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, 
lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his 
head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.

9  But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the 
LORD'S anointed and be guiltless?

10  As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike 
him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle 
and perish.

11  But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD'S anointed. 
Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let's go."

12  So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. 
No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all 
sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep.

13  Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill 
some distance away; there was a wide space between them.

14  He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Aren't you going to 
answer me, Abner?" Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"

15  David said, "You're a man, aren't you? And who is like you in Israel? 
Why didn't you guard your lord the king? Someone came to destroy your lord 
the king.

17  Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is that your voice, David my 
son?" David replied, "Yes it is, my lord the king."

22  "Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men 
come over and get it.

25  Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David; you will do 
great things and surely triumph." So David went on his way, and Saul 
returned home.

27:1  But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed 
by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of 
the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in 
Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."

2  So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish 
son of Maoch king of Gath.

3  David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family 
with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of 
Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

5  Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a 
place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. 
Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

7  David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

8  Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites 
and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land 
extending to Shur and Egypt.)

9  Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, 
but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he 
returned to Achish.

10  When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, 
"Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or 
"Against the Negev of the Kenites."

11  He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he 
thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.'" And 
such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

29:2  As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and 
thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.

3  The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" 
Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of 
Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he 
left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him."

5  Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: "'Saul has slain 
his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"

6  So Achish called David and said to him, "As surely as the LORD lives, 
you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in 
the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in 
you, but the rulers don't approve of you.

8  "But what have I done?" asked David. "What have you found against your 
servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight 
against the enemies of my lord the king?"

9  Achish answered, "I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an 
angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, 'He must 
not go up with us into battle.'

11  So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land 
of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

30:3  When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by 
fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

4  So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.

5  David's two wives had been captured--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the 
widow of Nabal of Carmel.

6  David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning 
him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But 
David found strength in the LORD his God.

7  Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me 
the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him,

8  and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will 
I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake 
them and succeed in the rescue."

9  David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where 
some stayed behind,

10  for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David 
and four hundred men continued the pursuit.

13  David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" 
He said, "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned 
me when I became ill three days ago.

15  David asked him, "Can you lead me down to this raiding party?" He 
answered, "Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over 
to my master, and I will take you down to them."

17  David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none 
of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and 
fled.

18  David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two 
wives.

19  Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything 
else they had taken. David brought everything back.

20  He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the 
other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder."

21  Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to 
follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to 
meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he 
greeted them.

23  David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the 
LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces 
that came against us.

26  When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders 
of Judah, who were his friends, saying, "Here is a present for you from the 
plunder of the LORD'S enemies."

2SA 1:3  "Where have you come from?" David asked him. He answered, "I have 
escaped from the Israelite camp."

4  "What happened?" David asked. "Tell me." He said, "The men fled from the 
battle. Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are 
dead."

5  Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, "How do you 
know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

11  Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore 
them.

13  David said to the young man who brought him the report, "Where are you 
from?" "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite," he answered.

14  David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy 
the LORD'S anointed?"

15  Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he 
struck him down, and he died.

16  For David had said to him, "Your blood be on your own head. Your own 
mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the LORD'S anointed.'"

17  David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,

2:1  In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. "Shall I go up to 
one of the towns of Judah?" he asked. The LORD said, "Go up." David asked, 
"Where shall I go?" "To Hebron," the LORD answered.

2  So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and 
Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

3  David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and 
they settled in Hebron and its towns.

4  Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and there they anointed David king 
over the house of Judah. When David was told that it was the men of Jabesh 
Gilead who had buried Saul,

5  he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead to say to them, "The LORD 
bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.

11  The length of time David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was 
seven years and six months.

3:1  The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long 
time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker 
and weaker.

2  Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon the son of 
Ahinoam of Jezreel;

3  his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the 
third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

4  the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son 
of Abital;

5  and the sixth, Ithream the son of David's wife Eglah. These were born to 
David in Hebron.

14  Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, "Give 
me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred 
Philistine foreskins."

18  Now do it! For the LORD promised David, 'By my servant David I will 
rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand 
of all their enemies.'"

20  When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David 
prepared a feast for him and his men.

26  Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought 
him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it.

28  Later, when David heard about this, he said, "I and my kingdom are 
forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.

31  Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes 
and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner." King David 
himself walked behind the bier.

35  Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still 
day; but David took an oath, saying, "May God deal with me, be it ever so 
severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!"

4:9  David answered Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the 
Beerothite, "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of all 
trouble,

12  So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off 
their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they 
took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner's tomb at Hebron.

5:4  David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty 
years.

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

10  And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was 
with him.

12  And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel 
and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

14  These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, 
Nathan, Solomon,

15  Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

16  Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

17  When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over 
Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about 
it and went down to the stronghold.

25  So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the 
Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

6:1  David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand 
in all.

2  He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there 
the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, 
who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.

5  David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their 
might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, 
sistrums and cymbals.

8  Then David was angry because the LORD'S wrath had broken out against 
Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

9  David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the 
LORD ever come to me?"

10  He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the 
City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the 
Gittite.

12  Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-
Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down 
and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of 
David with rejoicing.

14  David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his 
might,

15  while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD 
with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

17  They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the 
tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings 
and fellowship offerings before the LORD.

18  After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship 
offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty.

21  David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than 
your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the 
LORD'S people Israel--I will celebrate before the LORD.

22  I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated 
in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in 
honor."

8:1  In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued 
them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

2  David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground 
and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were 
put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites 
became subject to David and brought tribute.

3  Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he 
went to restore his control along the Euphrates River.

4  David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers 
and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the 
chariot horses.

5  When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, 
David struck down twenty-two thousand of them.

6  He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans 
became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory 
wherever he went.

7  David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer 
and brought them to Jerusalem.

8  From Tebah and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David 
took a great quantity of bronze.

11  King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had done with 
the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued:

13  And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen 
thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

14  He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject 
to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.

15  David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all 
his people.

9:6  When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he 
bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth!" "Your servant," he 
replied.

10:2  David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as 
his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express 
his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David's men came to the 
land of the Ammonites,

7  On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting 
men.

17  When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan 
and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and 
fought against him.

18  But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their 
charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down 
Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there.

11:1  In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab 
out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the 
Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

3  and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this 
Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

4  Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept 
with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went 
back home.

5  The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

6  So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab 
sent him to David.

7  When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers 
were and how the war was going.

10  When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't 
you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"

12  Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will 
send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

13  At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him 
drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his 
master's servants; he did not go home.

14  In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.

25  David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; 
the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city 
and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."

27  After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his 
house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had 
done displeased the LORD.

12:5  David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As 
surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

13  Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan 
replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.

16  David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house 
and spent the nights lying on the ground.

19  David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he 
realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they 
replied, "he is dead."

20  Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions 
and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. 
Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and 
he ate.

24  Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay 
with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD 
loved him;

25  and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet 
to name him Jedidiah.

29  So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and 
captured it.

30  He took the crown from the head of their king--its weight was a talent 
of gold, and it was set with precious stones--and it was placed on David's 
head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city

31  and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor 
with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at 
brickmaking. He did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his 
entire army returned to Jerusalem.

15:14  Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, 
"Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave 
immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us 
and put the city to the sword."

22  David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched 
on with all his men and the families that were with him.

30  But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his 
head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their 
heads too and were weeping as they went up.

31  Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with 
Absalom." So David prayed, "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into 
foolishness."

33  David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.

16:5  As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's 
family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed 
as he came out.

6  He pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, though all the 
troops and the special guard were on David's right and left.

11  David then said to Abishai and all his officials, "My son, who is of my 
own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! 
Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.

13  So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going 
along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at 
him and showering him with dirt.

17:22  So David and all the people with him set out and crossed the Jordan. 
By daybreak, no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

24  David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men 
of Israel.

18:1  David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them 
commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

24  While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman 
went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a 
man running alone.

19:13  And say to Amasa, 'Are you not my own flesh and blood? May God deal 
with me, be it ever so severely, if from now on you are not the commander 
of my army in place of Joab.'"

22  David replied, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? 
This day you have become my adversaries! Should anyone be put to death in 
Israel today? Do I not know that today I am king over Israel?"

20:6  David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba son of Bicri will do us more harm 
than Absalom did. Take your master's men and pursue him, or he will find 
fortified cities and escape from us."

21:1  During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive 
years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on 
account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the 
Gibeonites to death."

3  David asked the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? How shall I make 
amends so that you will bless the LORD'S inheritance?"

12  he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the 
citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had taken them secretly from the public 
square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck 
Saul down on Gilboa.)

13  David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and 
the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.

15  Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David 
went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became 
exhausted.

22:1  David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered 
him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

51  He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his 
anointed, to David and his descendants forever."

23:1  These are the last words of David: "The oracle of David son of Jesse, 
the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God 
of Jacob, Israel's singer of songs:

5  "Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting 
covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition 
my salvation and grant me my every desire?

14  At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison 
was at Bethlehem.

15  David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get me a drink 
of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!"

16  So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water 
from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But 
he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD.

23  He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not 
included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

24:10  David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, 
and he said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O 
LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very 
foolish thing."

11  Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to 
Gad the prophet, David's seer:

14  David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands 
of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands 
of men."

17  When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to 
the LORD, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. 
What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family."

19  So David went up, as the LORD had commanded through Gad.

25  David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings 
and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered prayer in behalf of the 
land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

1KI 1:1  When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not 
keep warm even when they put covers over him.

43  "Not at all!" Jonathan answered. "Our lord King David has made Solomon 
king.

2:1  When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon 
his son.

10  Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.

24  And now, as surely as the LORD lives--he who has established me 
securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me 
as he promised--Adonijah shall be put to death today!"

26  To Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go back to your fields in 
Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because 
you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared 
all my father's hardships."

32  The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without the 
knowledge of my father David he attacked two men and killed them with the 
sword. Both of them--Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and 
Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army--were better men and more 
upright than he.

33  May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his 
descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his 
throne, may there be the LORD'S peace forever."

44  The king also said to Shimei, "You know in your heart all the wrong you 
did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing.

45  But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure 
before the LORD forever."

5:1  When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to 
succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had 
always been on friendly terms with David.

1CH 9:22  Altogether, those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds 
numbered 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. The 
gatekeepers had been assigned to their positions of trust by David and 
Samuel the seer.

11:4  David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus. 
The Jebusites who lived there

5  said to David, "You will not get in here." Nevertheless, David captured 
the fortress of Zion, the City of David.

6  David had said, "Whoever leads the attack on the Jebusites will become 
commander-in-chief." Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and so he received 
the command.

7  David then took up residence in the fortress, and so it was called the 
City of David.

8  He built up the city around it, from the supporting terraces to the 
surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city.

9  And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD Almighty was 
with him.

16  At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison 
was at Bethlehem.

17  David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get me a drink 
of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!"

18  So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the 
well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he 
refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD.

25  He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not 
included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

12:17  David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come to 
me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you 
have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, 
may the God of our fathers see it and judge you."

18  Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said: "We 
are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Success, success to 
you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you." So 
David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.

13:1  David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of 
thousands and commanders of hundreds.

2  He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you 
and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to 
the rest of our brothers throughout the territories of Israel, and also to 
the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, 
to come and join us.

5  So David assembled all the Israelites, from the Shihor River in Egypt to 
Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim.

6  David and all the Israelites with him went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath 
Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned 
between the cherubim--the ark that is called by the Name.

8  David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might 
before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and 
trumpets.

11  Then David was angry because the LORD'S wrath had broken out against 
Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

12  David was afraid of God that day and asked, "How can I ever bring the 
ark of God to me?"

13  He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, 
he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

15:1  After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of 
David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.

2  Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, 
because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister 
before him forever."

3  David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD 
to the place he had prepared for it.

4  He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

11  Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, 
Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites.

16  David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as 
singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, 
harps and cymbals.

25  So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a 
thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the 
house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing.

16:2  After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and 
fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.

3  Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to 
each Israelite man and woman.

4  He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, 
to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of 
Israel:

37  David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of 
the LORD to minister there regularly, according to each day's requirements.

43  Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned 
home to bless his family.

17:1  After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, 
"Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of 
the LORD is under a tent."

12  He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his 
throne forever.

18  "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know 
your servant,

18:14  David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all 
his people.

19:2  David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because 
his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express 
his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David's men came to Hanun 
in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him,

3  the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, "Do you think David is honoring your 
father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Haven't his men come to 
you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?"

8  On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting 
men.

17  When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the 
Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. 
David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought 
against him.

18  But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their 
charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed 
Shophach the commander of their army.

20:8  These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands 
of David and his men.

21:1  Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of 
Israel.

2  So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count 
the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may 
know how many there are."

8  Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg 
you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish 
thing."

13  David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands 
of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the 
hands of men."

16  David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven 
and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then 
David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

17  David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be 
counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. 
What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my 
family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."

19  So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the 
name of the LORD.

21  Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the 
threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

22  David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I 
can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be 
stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."

24  But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full 
price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt 
offering that costs me nothing."

25  So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site.

26  David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings 
and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him 
with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

28  At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the 
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.

30  But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was 
afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

23:1  When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king 
over Israel.

5  Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the 
LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose."

6  David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: 
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

25  For David had said, "Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted 
rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever,

27  According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted 
from those twenty years old or more.

24:3  With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a 
descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their 
appointed order of ministering.

25:1  David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of 
the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, 
accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who 
performed this service:

28:11  Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the 
temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and 
the place of atonement.

19  "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD 
upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."

20  David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do 
the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is 
with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the 
service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

29:10  David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, 
saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from 
everlasting to everlasting.

20  Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So 
they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and 
fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.

26  David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.

27  He ruled over Israel forty years--seven in Hebron and thirty-three in 
Jerusalem.

28  He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. 
His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

PSA 2:1  Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

5:1  Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.

6:1  O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

7  My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

7:1  O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who 
pursue me,

11:1  In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: "Flee like a 
bird to your mountain.

12:1  Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished 
from among men.

13:1  How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide 
your face from me?

15:1  LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy 
hill?

16:1  Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.

17:1  Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my 
prayer--it does not rise from deceitful lips.

18:1  I love you, O LORD, my strength.

43  You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me 
the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.

19:1  The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of 
his hands.

20:1  May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the 
God of Jacob protect you.

21:1  O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in 
the victories you give!

22:1  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from 
saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

23:1  The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

24:1  The earth is the LORD'S, and everything in it, the world, and all who 
live in it;

26:1  Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted 
in the LORD without wavering.

27:1  The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD 
is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?

7  Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.

8  My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9  Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; 
you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

10  Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

11  Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my 
oppressors.

12  Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise 
up against me, breathing out violence.

13  I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in 
the land of the living.

14  Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

28:1  To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if 
you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

29:1  Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and 
strength.

30:1  I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did 
not let my enemies gloat over me.

31:1  In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; 
deliver me in your righteousness.

32:1  Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are 
covered.

34:1  I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my 
lips.

35:1  Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those 
who fight against me.

37:1  Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;

38:1  O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your 
wrath.

39:1  I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put 
a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."

40:1  I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

41:1  Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in 
times of trouble.

42:1  As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O 
God.

43:1  Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; 
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

51:1  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according 
to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

52:1  Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day 
long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

54:1  Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might.

55:1  Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;

56:1  Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they 
press their attack.

57:1  Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes 
refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster 
has passed.

58:1  Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men?

59:1  Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up 
against me.

60:1  You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been 
angry--now restore us!

61:1  Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.

62:1  My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

63:1  O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, 
my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

64:1  Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the 
threat of the enemy.

66:1  Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

69:1  Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

7  For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.

8  I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons;

9  for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult 
you fall on me.

70:1  Hasten, O God, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me.

71:1  In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.

78:70  He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;

86:1  Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

89:3  You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to 
David my servant,

4  'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through 
all generations.'" Selah

19  Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: "I have 
bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the 
people.

101:1  I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing 
praise.

108:1  My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my 
soul.

109:1  O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent,

111:1  Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the 
council of the upright and in the assembly.

120:1  I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.

2  Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.

122:1  I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the 
LORD."

131:1  My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not 
concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

132:11  The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not 
revoke: "One of your own descendants I will place on your throne--

12  if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their 
sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever."

138:1  I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I 
will sing your praise.

140:1  Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence,

141:1  O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call 
to you.

142:1  I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.

143:1  O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your 
faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.

144:1  Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my 
fingers for battle.

145:1  I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever 
and ever.

MAT 12:3  He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his 
companions were hungry?

4  He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the 
consecrated bread--which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the 
priests.

ACT 2:25  David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because 
he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

                              DAVID (PART 3)


Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New 
York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

RTH 4:17  The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named 
him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

1SA 16:13  So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence 
of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon 
David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

19  Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, 
who is with the sheep."

20  So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young 
goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.

22  Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my 
service, for I am pleased with him."

17:12  Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from 
Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was old and 
well advanced in years.

15  but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at 
Bethlehem.

17  Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah of roasted grain and 
these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.

28  When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he 
burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with 
whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you 
are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

29  "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"

38  Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him 
and a bronze helmet on his head.

39  David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, 
because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, 
"because I am not used to them." So he took them off.

43  He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And 
the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44  "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air 
and the beasts of the field!"

50  So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; 
without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

54  David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he 
put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.

55  As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to 
Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" Abner 
replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know."

18:3  And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as 
himself.

4  Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along 
with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

14  In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with 
him.

24  When Saul's servants told him what David had said,

28  When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter 
Michal loved David,

19:5  He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD 
won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then 
would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no 
reason?"

11  Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the 
morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your 
life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed."

19  Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah";

20  so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets 
prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God 
came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied.

22  Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at 
Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" "Over in Naioth at 
Ramah," they said.

20:4  Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for 
you."

10  David asked, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?"

11  "Come," Jonathan said, "let's go out into the field." So they went 
there together.

12  Then Jonathan said to David: "By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will 
surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is 
favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know?

18  Then Jonathan said to David: "Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You 
will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

25  He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner 
sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.

33  But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that 
his father intended to kill David.

34  Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of 
the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father's shameful 
treatment of David.

21:4  But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on 
hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here--provided the men have 
kept themselves from women."

5  David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I 
set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How 
much more so today!"

8  David asked Ahimelech, "Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I 
haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's business 
was urgent."

9  The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you 
killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the 
ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one." David 
said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

22:3  From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, 
"Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn 
what God will do for me?"

4  So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long 
as David was in the stronghold.

14  Ahimelech answered the king, "Who of all your servants is as loyal as 
David, the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly 
respected in your household?

17  Then the king ordered the guards at his side: "Turn and kill the 
priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he 
was fleeing, yet they did not tell me." But the king's officials were not 
willing to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

20  But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, escaped and fled to 
join David.

21  He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

23:1  When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against 
Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,"

6  (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when 
he fled to David at Keilah.)

7  Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, "God has 
handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town 
with gates and bars."

18  The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went 
home, but David remained at Horesh.

19  The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding 
among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of 
Jeshimon?

25  Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he 
went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard 
this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

28  Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the 
Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.

24:1  After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, 
"David is in the Desert of En Gedi."

16  When David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David 
my son?" And he wept aloud.

25:8  Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable 
toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your 
servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.'"

9  When David's men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David's name. 
Then they waited.

10  Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is this David? Who is this son of 
Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.

12  David's men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they 
reported every word.

14  One of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail: "David sent messengers 
from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at 
them.

20  As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David 
and his men descending toward her, and she met them.

23  When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down 
before David with her face to the ground.

40  His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, "David has sent us to 
you to take you to become his wife."

42  Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five maids, went 
with David's messengers and became his wife.

26:1  The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding on 
the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?"

2  So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen 
men of Israel, to search there for David.

8  Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your 
hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I 
won't strike him twice."

21  Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you 
considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely 
I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly."

27:4  When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched 
for him.

12  Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to 
his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."

28:1  In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against 
Israel. Achish said to David, "You must understand that you and your men 
will accompany me in the army."

2  David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do." 
Achish replied, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."

17  The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the 
kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors--to David.

30:1  David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites 
had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it,

11  They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave 
him water to drink and food to eat--

22  But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, 
"Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the 
plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and 
go."

31  and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his 
men had roamed.

2SA 1:1  After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the 
Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.

2  On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn 
and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to 
pay him honor.

2:10  Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over 
Israel, and he reigned two years. The house of Judah, however, followed 
David.

13  Joab son of Zeruiah and David's men went out and met them at the pool 
of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the 
other side.

15  So they stood up and were counted off--twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-
Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.

17  The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel 
were defeated by David's men.

30  Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner and assembled all his men. 
Besides Asahel, nineteen of David's men were found missing.

31  But David's men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were 
with Abner.

3:6  During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner 
had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul.

8  Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said and he answered, 
"Am I a dog's head--on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house 
of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you 
over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman!

9  May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for 
David what the LORD promised him on oath

10  and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's 
throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba."

12  Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, "Whose land 
is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over 
to you."

17  Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, "For some time you 
have wanted to make David your king.

19  Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to 
tell David everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin wanted to 
do.

22  Just then David's men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with 
them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, 
because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

5:1  All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "We are 
your own flesh and blood.

7  Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David.

8  On that day, David said, "Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to 
use the water shaft to reach those 'lame and blind' who are David's 
enemies." That is why they say, "The 'blind and lame' will not enter the 
palace."

9  David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of 
David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward.

11  Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs 
and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.

13  After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in 
Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

19  so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? 
Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will 
surely hand the Philistines over to you."

20  So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As 
waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me." So 
that place was called Baal Perazim.

21  The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men 
carried them off.

23  so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, 
but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

6:16  As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal 
daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping 
and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

7:5  "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you 
the one to build me a house to dwell in?

8  "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: 
I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over 
my people Israel.

17  Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

18  Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am 
I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this 
far?

20  "What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign 
LORD.

26  so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD 
Almighty is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be 
established before you.

8:9  When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army 
of Hadadezer,

10  he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him 
on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. 
Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze.

18  Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and 
David's sons were royal advisers.

9:1  David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom 
I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

5  So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son 
of Ammiel.

7  "Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you 
kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all 
the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at 
my table."

10:3  the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think David is 
honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn't 
David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow 
it?"

4  So Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut 
off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.

6  When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David's 
nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob 
and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and also 
twelve thousand men from Tob.

11:11  Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in 
tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. 
How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely 
as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

17  When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the 
men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite was dead.

18  Joab sent David a full account of the battle.

22  The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything 
Joab had sent him to say.

23  The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out 
against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city 
gate.

12:1  The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There 
were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.

7  Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the 
God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you 
from the hand of Saul.

15  After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife 
had borne to David, and he became ill.

18  On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell 
him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still 
living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell 
him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."

27  Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against 
Rabbah and taken its water supply.

13:1  In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, 
the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.

3  Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. 
Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

7  David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of your brother 
Amnon and prepare some food for him."

21  When King David heard all this, he was furious.

37  Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But 
King David mourned for his son every day.

39  And the spirit of the king longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled 
concerning Amnon's death.

15:12  While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel 
the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so 
the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.

13  A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are 
with Absalom."

32  When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, 
Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his 
head.

37  So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering 
the city.

16:1  When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was 
Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of 
donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred 
cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.

23  Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who 
inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of 
Ahithophel's advice.

17:1  Ahithophel said to Absalom, "I would choose twelve thousand men and 
set out tonight in pursuit of David.

17  Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A servant girl was to go 
and inform them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they could 
not risk being seen entering the city.

21  After the men had gone, the two climbed out of the well and went to 
inform King David. They said to him, "Set out and cross the river at once; 
Ahithophel has advised such and such against you."

27  When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the 
Ammonites, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the 
Gileadite from Rogelim

29  honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows' milk for David and his 
people to eat. For they said, "The people have become hungry and tired and 
thirsty in the desert."

18:7  There the army of Israel was defeated by David's men, and the 
casualties that day were great--twenty thousand men.

9  Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as 
the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head got 
caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was 
riding kept on going.

19:16  Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with 
the men of Judah to meet King David.

20:1  Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjamite, happened to 
be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, "We have no share in David, 
no part in Jesse's son! Every man to his tent, O Israel!"

2  So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bicri. 
But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to 
Jerusalem.

11  One of Joab's men stood beside Amasa and said, "Whoever favors Joab, 
and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!"

26  and Ira the Jairite was David's priest.

21:11  When David was told what Aiah's daughter Rizpah, Saul's concubine, 
had done,

16  And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze 
spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, 
said he would kill David.

17  But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's rescue; he struck the 
Philistine down and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, saying, 
"Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel 
will not be extinguished."

21  When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, 
killed him.

22  These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the 
hands of David and his men.

23:8  These are the names of David's mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth, a 
Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight 
hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.

9  Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three 
mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at 
Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated,

13  During harvest time, three of the thirty chief men came down to David 
at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the 
Valley of Rephaim.

24:1  Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited 
David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."

12  "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three 
options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'"

13  So Gad went to David and said to him, "Shall there come upon you three 
years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies 
while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, 
think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me."

18  On that day Gad went to David and said to him, "Go up and build an 
altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

1KI 1:8  But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, 
Shimei and Rei and David's special guard did not join Adonijah.

11  Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, "Have you not heard that 
Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king without our lord David's 
knowing it?

13  Go in to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, did you not 
swear to me your servant: "Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, 
and he will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?'

38  So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the 
Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David's 
mule and escorted him to Gihon.

2:11  He had reigned forty years over Israel--seven years in Hebron and 
thirty-three in Jerusalem.

12  So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was 
firmly established.

3:1  Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his 
daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building 
his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

3  Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the 
statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned 
incense on the high places.

6  Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my 
father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in 
heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a 
son to sit on his throne this very day.

7  "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my 
father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out 
my duties.

14  And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David 
your father did, I will gi