24Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, Go and take a census of Israel and Judah. 2So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer...
23These 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 : 2The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongu...
22David 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. 2He said: The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield...
21During 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. 2The king summoned t...
20Now 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! 2So all the men of Israel deserted David to foll...
19Joab was told, The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. 2And 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. 3The men stole into the city that da...
18David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2David sent the troops out-a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third unde...
17Ahithophel said to Absalom, I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. 2I 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...
16When 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...
15In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2He 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...
14Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom. 2So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don't use any cosmetic lotions. A...
13In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him...
12The 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. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he h...
11In 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. 2One evening David got up from his bed and...
10In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2David 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 sympath...
