Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron—four in all.

²The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred.

³The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men.

⁴And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers’ houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons.

⁵Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand in all.

⁶The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael—three in all.

⁷The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five in all. They were heads of their fathers’ houses, and they were listed by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor.

⁸The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these are the sons of Becher.

⁹And they were recorded by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor.

¹⁰The son of Jediael was Bilhan, and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar.

¹¹All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers’ houses; there were seventeen thousand two hundred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle.

¹²Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, and Hushim was the son of Aher.

¹³The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.

¹⁴The descendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him Machir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel.

¹⁵Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s grandson was Zelophehad, but Zelophehad begot only daughters.

¹⁶(Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.

¹⁷The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.

¹⁸His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.

¹⁹And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

²⁰The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son,

²¹Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle.

²²Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.

²³And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house.

²⁴Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah;

²⁵and Rephah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son,

²⁶Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,

²⁷Nun his son, and Joshua his son.

²⁸Now their possessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as Ayyah and its towns;

²⁹and by the borders of the children of Manasseh were Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph, the son of Israel.

³⁰The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.

³¹The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.

³²And Heber begot Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua.

³³The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the children of Japhlet.

³⁴The sons of Shemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.

³⁵And the sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.

³⁶The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah,

³⁷Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Jithran, and Beera.

³⁸The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.

³⁹The sons of Ulla were Arah, Haniel, and Rizia.

⁴⁰All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.

¹Now Benjamin begot Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third,

²Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth.

³The sons of Bela were Addar, Gera, Abihud,

⁴Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah,

⁵Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.

⁶These are the sons of Ehud, who were the heads of the fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and who forced them to move to Manahath:

⁷Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera who forced them to move. He begot Uzza and Ahihud.

⁸Also Shaharaim had children in the country of Moab, after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives.

⁹By Hodesh his wife he begot Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam,

¹⁰Jeuz, Sachiah, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of their fathers’ houses.

¹¹And by Hushim he begot Abitub and Elpaal.

¹²The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns;

¹³and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of their fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.

¹⁴Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth,

¹⁵Zebadiah, Arad, Eder,

¹⁶Michael, Ispah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah.

¹⁷Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber,

¹⁸Ishmerai, Jizliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.

¹⁹Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi,

²⁰Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel,

²¹Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.

²²Ishpan, Eber, Eliel,

²³Abdon, Zichri, Hanan,

²⁴Hananiah, Elam, Antothijah,

²⁵Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.

²⁶Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah,

²⁷Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham.

²⁸These were heads of the fathers’ houses by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem.

²⁹Now the father of Gibeon, whose wife’s name was Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon.

³⁰And his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab,

³¹Gedor, Ahio, Zecher,

³²and Mikloth, who begot Shimeah. They also dwelt alongside their relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren.

³³Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

³⁴The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah.

³⁵The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.

³⁶And Ahaz begot Jehoaddah; Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza.

³⁷Moza begot Binea, Raphah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son.

³⁸Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.

³⁹And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third.

⁴⁰The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor—archers. They had many sons and grandsons, one hundred and fifty in all. These were all sons of Benjamin.

¹So all Israel was recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.

²And the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and the Nethinim.

³Now in Jerusalem the children of Judah dwelt, and some of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh:

⁴Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the descendants of Perez, the son of Judah.

⁵Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons.

⁶Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brethren—six hundred and ninety.

⁷Of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah;

⁸Ibneiah the son of Jeroham; Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

⁹and their brethren, according to their generations—nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of a father’s house in their fathers’ houses.

¹⁰Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin;

¹¹Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the officer over the house of God;

¹²Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;

¹³and their brethren, heads of their fathers’ houses—one thousand seven hundred and sixty. They were very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.

¹⁴Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;

¹⁵Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph;

¹⁶Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

¹⁷And the gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren. Shallum was the chief.

¹⁸Until then they had been gatekeepers for the camps of the children of Levi at the King’s Gate on the east.

¹⁹Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the LORD.

²⁰And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the LORD was with him.

²¹Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

²²All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted office.

²³So they and their children were in charge of the gates of the house of the LORD, the house of the tabernacle, by assignment.

²⁴The gatekeepers were assigned to the four directions: the east, west, north, and south.

²⁵And their brethren in their villages had to come with them from time to time for seven days.

²⁶For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God.

²⁷And they lodged all around the house of God because they had the responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning.

²⁸Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count.

²⁹Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices.

³⁰And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices.

³¹Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office over the things that were baked in the pans.

³²And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath.

³³These are the singers, heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night.

³⁴These heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites were heads throughout their generations. They dwelt at Jerusalem.

³⁵Jeiel the father of Gibeon, whose wife’s name was Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon.

³⁶His firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,

³⁷Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth.

³⁸And Mikloth begot Shimeam. They also dwelt alongside their relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren.

³⁹Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

⁴⁰The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah.

⁴¹The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz.

⁴²And Ahaz begot Jarah; Jarah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza;

⁴³Moza begot Binea, Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son.

⁴⁴And Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.

³The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers.

⁴Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.

⁵And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died.

⁶So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.

⁷And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; then the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people.

¹⁰Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

¹¹And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

¹³So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.

¹⁴But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

¹Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.

²Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel.’ ”

³Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel.

⁴And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.

⁵But the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come in here!” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).

⁶Now David said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief.

⁷Then David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the City of David.

⁸And he built the city around it, from the Millo to the surrounding area. Joab repaired the rest of the city.

⁹So David went on and became great, and the LORD of hosts was with him.

¹⁰Now these were the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel.

¹¹And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, chief of the captains; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed by him at one time.

¹²After him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men.

¹³He was with David at Pasdammim. Now there the Philistines were gathered for battle, and there was a piece of ground full of barley. So the people fled from the Philistines.

¹⁴But they stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹⁵Now three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the army of the Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁶David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

¹⁷And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”

¹⁸So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD.

¹⁹And he said, “Far be it from me, O my God, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men.

²⁰Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of another three. He had lifted up his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three.

²¹Of the three he was more honored than the other two men. Therefore he became their captain. However he did not attain to the first three.

²²Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

²³And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great height, five cubits tall. In the Egyptian’s hand there was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.

²⁴These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men.

²⁵Indeed he was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.

²⁶Also the mighty warriors were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁷Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,

²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite,

²⁹Sibbechai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,

³⁰Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite,

³¹Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,

³²Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,

³³Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

³⁴the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shageh the Hararite,

³⁵Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur,

³⁶Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,

³⁷Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai,

³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri,

³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite (the armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah),

⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

⁴¹Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai,

⁴²Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite (a chief of the Reubenites) and thirty with him,

⁴³Hanan the son of Maachah, Joshaphat the Mithnite,

⁴⁴Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,

⁴⁵Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite,

⁴⁶Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite,

⁴⁷Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

¹Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war,

²armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.

³The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Berachah, and Jehu the Anathothite;

⁴Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite;

⁵Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite;

⁶Elkanah, Jisshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites;

⁷and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:

⁹Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

¹⁰Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

¹¹Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

¹²Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

¹³Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbanai the eleventh.

¹⁴These were from the sons of Gad, captains of the army; the least was over a hundred, and the greatest was over a thousand.

¹⁵These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold.

¹⁷And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment.”

¹⁸Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.

¹⁹And some from Manasseh defected to David when he was going with the Philistines to battle against Saul; but they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines sent him away by agreement, saying, “He may defect to his master Saul and endanger our heads.”

²⁰When he went to Ziklag, those of Manasseh who defected to him were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of the thousands who were from Manasseh.

²¹And they helped David against the bands of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor, and they were captains in the army.

²²For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, like the army of God.

²³Now these were the numbers of the divisions that were equipped for war, and came to David at Hebron to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD:

²⁴of the sons of Judah bearing shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred armed for war;

²⁵of the sons of Simeon, mighty men of valor fit for war, seven thousand one hundred;

²⁶of the sons of Levi four thousand six hundred;

²⁷Jehoiada, the leader of the Aaronites, and with him three thousand seven hundred;

²⁸Zadok, a young man, a valiant warrior, and from his father’s house twenty-two captains;

²⁹of the sons of Benjamin, relatives of Saul, three thousand (until then the greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul);

³⁰of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous men throughout their father’s house;

³¹of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king;

³²of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;

³³of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, stouthearted men who could keep ranks;

³⁴of Naphtali one thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear;

³⁵of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thousand six hundred;

³⁶of Asher, those who could go out to war, able to keep battle formation, forty thousand;

³⁷of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, from the other side of the Jordan, one hundred and twenty thousand armed for battle with every kind of weapon of war.

³⁸All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king.

³⁹And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them.

⁴⁰Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen—provisions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel.

¹Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.

²And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of the LORD our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us;

³and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.”

⁴Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

⁵So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim.

⁶And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed.

⁷So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart.

⁸Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.

⁹And when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.

¹⁰Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.

¹¹And David became angry because of the LORD’s outbreak against Uzza; therefore that place is called Perez Uzza to this day.

¹²David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God to me?”

¹³So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

¹⁴The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.

¹Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, with masons and carpenters, to build him a house.

²So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel.

³Then David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David begot more sons and daughters.

⁴And these are the names of his children whom he had in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,

⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

⁷Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

⁸Now when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went out against them.

⁹Then the Philistines went and made a raid on the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁰And David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” The LORD said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.”

¹¹So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

¹²And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

¹³Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley.

¹⁴Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

¹⁵And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

¹⁶So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

¹⁷Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.

¹David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it.

²Then David said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.”

³And David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it.

⁴Then David assembled the children of Aaron and the Levites:

⁵of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and one hundred and twenty of his brethren;

⁶of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren;

⁷of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren;

⁸of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and two hundred of his brethren;

⁹of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his brethren;

¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren.

¹¹And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

¹³For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”

¹⁴So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁵And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.

¹⁶Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of their brethren, the sons of Merari, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;

¹⁸and with them their brethren of the second rank: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers;

¹⁹the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound the cymbals of bronze;

²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with strings according to Alamoth;

²¹Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to direct with harps on the Sheminith;

²²Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful;

²³Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark;

²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-Edom and Jehiah, doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom with joy.

²⁶And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams.

²⁷David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.

²⁸Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps.

²⁹And it happened, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the City of David, that Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David whirling and playing music; and she despised him in her heart.

¹So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

²And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.

³Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.

⁴And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the LORD God of Israel:

⁵Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals;

⁶Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the LORD:

⁸Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!

⁹Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!

¹⁰Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!

¹¹Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

¹²Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

¹³O seed of Israel His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

¹⁴He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,

¹⁶The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,

¹⁷And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant,

¹⁸Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,”

¹⁹When you were few in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

²⁰When they went from one nation to another, And from one kingdom to another people,

²¹He permitted no man to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,

²²Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.”

²³Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

²⁴Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

²⁵For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

²⁷Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place.

²⁸Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength.

²⁹Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!

³⁰Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved.

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”

³²Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.

³³Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the LORD, For He is coming to judge the earth.

³⁴Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

³⁵And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation; Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise.”

³⁶Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.

³⁷So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister before the ark regularly, as every day’s work required;

³⁸and Obed-Edom with his sixty-eight brethren, including Obed-Edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers;

³⁹and Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place that was at Gibeon,

⁴⁰to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the Law of the LORD which He commanded Israel;

⁴¹and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His mercy endures forever;

⁴²and with them Heman and Jeduthun, to sound aloud with trumpets and cymbals and the musical instruments of God. Now the sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.

⁴³Then all the people departed, every man to his house; and David returned to bless his house.

¹Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains.”

²Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

⁴“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in.

⁵For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

⁶Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar–’ ” ’

⁷Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.

⁸And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth.

⁹Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,

¹⁰since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house.

¹¹And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

¹³I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.

¹⁴And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁵According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

¹⁶Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

¹⁷And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God.

¹⁸What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant.

¹⁹O LORD, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

²⁰O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people—to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt?

²²For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.

²³“And now, O LORD, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let it be established forever, and do as You have said.

²⁴So let it be established, that Your name may be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You.

²⁵For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before You.

²⁶And now, LORD, You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant.

²⁷Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You have blessed it, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.”

¹After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines.

²Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.

³And David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates.

⁴David took from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

⁵When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians.

⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

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

⁸Also from Tibhath and from Chun, cities of Hadadezer, David brought a large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea, the pillars, and the articles of bronze.

⁹Now when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,

¹⁰he sent Hadoram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou); and Hadoram brought with him all kinds of articles of gold, silver, and bronze.

¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹²Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹³He also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

¹⁴So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁵Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

¹⁶Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Shavsha was the scribe;

¹⁷Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers at the king’s side.

¹It happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place.

²Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land of the people of Ammon to comfort him.

³And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Did his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?”

⁴Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵Then some went and told David about the men; and he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

⁶When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Syrian Maacah, and from Zobah.

⁷So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, with the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. Also the people of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle.

⁸Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.

⁹Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array before the gate of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

¹⁰When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians.

¹¹And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in battle array against the people of Ammon.

¹²Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

¹³Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”

¹⁴So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.

¹⁵When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city. So Joab went to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Now when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought the Syrians who were beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them.

¹⁷When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came upon them, and set up in battle array against them. So when David had set up in battle array against the Syrians, they fought with him.

¹⁸Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians, and killed Shophach the commander of the army.

¹⁹And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. So the Syrians were not willing to help the people of Ammon anymore.