The Lord’s Covenant with David

1 ^sNow when the king lived in his house and the Lord ^thad given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to ^uNathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell ^vin a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells ^win a tent.” 3 And Nathan said to the king, ^x“Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^yWould you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house ^zsince the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about ^ain a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where ^bI have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with ^cany of the judges¹ of Israel, whom I commanded ^dto shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^eI took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince² over my people Israel. 9 ^fAnd I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel ^gand will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place ^hand be disturbed no more. ⁱAnd violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 ^jfrom the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And ^kI will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that ^lthe Lord will make you a house. 12 ^mWhen your days are fulfilled and ⁿyou lie down with your fathers, ^oI will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 ^pHe shall build a house for my name, and ^qI will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 ^rI will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, ^sI will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 ^sbut my steadfast love will not depart from him, ^tas I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 ^uAnd your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.^{3 u}Your throne shall be established forever.’” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer of Gratitude

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ^v“Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. ^wYou have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? ^xFor you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 ^yTherefore you are great, O Lord God. ^zFor there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 ^aAnd who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name ^band doing for them⁴ great and awesome things by driving out before your people,⁵ whom ^cyou redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 ^dAnd you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and ^eyour words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, ^fand with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

David’s Victories

1 ^gAfter this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took ^hMetheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 ⁱAnd he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites ^jbecame servants to David and ^kbrought tribute.

3 David also defeated ^lHadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^mZobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. 4 ⁿAnd David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David ^ohamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 ^pAnd when the ^qSyrians of Damascus came to help ^lHadadezer king of ^mZobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians ^rbecame servants to David and brought tribute. ^sAnd the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 And David took ^tthe shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.

9 When Toi king of ^uHamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. 11 ^vThese also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, 12 from Edom, ^wMoab, ^xthe Ammonites, ^ythe Philistines, ^zAmalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^mZobah.

13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in ^athe Valley of Salt. 14 Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, ^band all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David’s Officials

15 So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. 16 ^cJoab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and ^dJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, 17 and ^eZadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and ^fSeraiah was secretary, 18 and ^gBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was over⁶ the ^hCherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were priests.

The Lord’s Covenant with David

1 ^tNow when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” 2 And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^uIt is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, ^vbut I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. 6 In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I ^wwill subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 ^xI will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, ^yas I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” 15 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer

16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 17 And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations,¹ O Lord God! 18 And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. 19 ^zFor your servant’s sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. 20 There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel, the one² nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. 23 And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, 24 and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 25 For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. 26 And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O Lord, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

David Defeats His Enemies

1 ^aAfter this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated ^bHadadezer king of ^cZobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument³ at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,000 chariots, ^d7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^eof Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons⁴ in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David⁵ wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from ^fTibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. ^gWith it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

9 When ^hTou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king ^eof Zobah, 10 he sent his son ⁱHadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against ^bHadadezer and defeated him; for ^bHadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from ^jEdom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 And ^kAbishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David’s Administration

14 So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. 15 And ^lJoab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 ^mand Zadok the son of Ahitub and ⁿAhimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and ^oShavsha was secretary; 17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were the ^pchief officials in the service of the king.

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to ^fShushan Eduth. A ^gMiktam¹ of David; ^hfor instruction; when he ⁱstrove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.