Good News Translation (GNT)

David Is Made King of Judah

1 After this, David asked the Lord, “Shall I go and take control of one of the towns of Judah?”

“Yes,” the Lord answered.

“Which one?” David asked.

“Hebron,” the Lord said.

2 So David went to Hebron, taking with him his two wives: Ahinoam, who was from Jezreel, and Abigail, Nabal’s widow, who was from Carmel.

3 He also took his men and their families, and they settled in the towns around Hebron.

4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David as king of Judah.

When David heard that the people of Jabesh in Gilead had buried Saul,

5 he sent some men there with the message: “May the Lord bless you for showing your loyalty to your king by burying him.

6 And now may the Lord be kind and faithful to you. I too will treat you well because of what you have done.

7 Be strong and brave! Saul your king is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me as their king.”

Ishbosheth Is Made King of Israel

8 The commander of Saul’s army, Abner son of Ner, had fled with Saul’s son Ishbosheth across the Jordan to Mahanaim.

9 There Abner made Ishbosheth king of the territories of Gilead, Asher,Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, and indeed over all Israel.

10 He was forty years old when he was made king of Israel, and he ruled for two years.

But the tribe of Judah was loyal to David,

11 and he ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years.

War between Israel and Judah

12 Abner and the officials of Ishbosheth went from Mahanaim to the city of Gibeon.

13 Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and David’s other officials met them at the pool, where they all sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the opposite side.

14 Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men from each side fight an armed contest.”

“All right,” Joab answered.

15 So twelve men, representing Ishbosheth and the tribe of Benjamin, fought twelve of David’s men.

16 Each man caught his opponent by the head and plunged his sword into his opponent’s side, so that all twenty-four of them fell down dead together. And so that place in Gibeon is called “Field of Swords.”

17 Then a furious battle broke out, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.

18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, who could run as fast as a wild deer,

19 started chasing Abner, running straight for him.

20 Abner looked back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“Yes,” he answered.

21 “Stop chasing me!” Abner said. “Run after one of the soldiers and take what he has.” But Asahel kept on chasing him.

22 Once more Abner said to him, “Stop chasing me! Why force me to kill you? How could I face your brother Joab?”

23 But Asahel would not quit; so Abner, with a backward thrustof his spear, struck him through the stomach so that the spear came out at his back. Asahel dropped to the ground dead, and everyone who came to the place where he was lying stopped and stood there.

24 But Joab and Abishai started out after Abner, and at sunset they came to the hill of Ammah, which is to the east of Giah on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.

25 The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner again and took their stand on the top of a hill.

26 Abner called out to Joab, “Do we have to go on fighting forever? Can’t you see that in the end there will be nothing but bitterness? We are your relatives. How long will it be before you order your men to stop chasing us?”

27 “I swear by the living God,” Joab answered, “that if you had not spoken, my men would have kept on chasing you until tomorrow morning.”

28 Then Joab blew the trumpet as a signal for his men to stop pursuing the Israelites; and so the fighting stopped.

29 Abner and his men marched through the Jordan Valley all that night; they crossed the Jordan River, and after marching all the next morning, they arrived back at Mahanaim.

30 When Joab gave up the chase, he gathered all his men and found that nineteen of them were missing, in addition to Asahel.

31 David’s men had killed 360 of Abner’s men from the tribe of Benjamin.

32 Joab and his men took Asahel’s body and buried it in the family tomb at Bethlehem. Then they marched all night and at dawn arrived back at Hebron.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/2-d3d95db68276c90f3760178ad6893277.mp3?version_id=68—

1 The fighting between the forces supporting Saul’s family and those supporting David went on for a long time. As David became stronger and stronger, his opponents became weaker and weaker.

David’s Sons

2 The following six sons, in order of their birth, were born to David at Hebron: Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam, from Jezreel;

3 Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, Nabal’s widow, from Carmel; Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;

4 Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital;

5 Ithream, whose mother was Eglah. All of these sons were born in Hebron.

Abner Joins David

6 As the fighting continued between David’s forces and the forces loyal to Saul’s family, Abner became more and more powerful among Saul’s followers.

7 One day Ishbosheth son of Saul accused Abner of sleeping with Saul’s concubine Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah.

8 This made Abner furious. “Do you think that I would betray Saul? Do you really think I’m serving Judah?” he exclaimed. “From the very first I have been loyal to the cause of your father Saul, his brothers, and his friends, and I have kept you from being defeated by David; yet today you find fault with me about a woman!

9-10 The Lord promised David that he would take the kingdom away from Saul and his descendants and would make David king of both Israel and Judah, from one end of the country to the other. Now may God strike me dead if I don’t make this come true!”

11 Ishbosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not say a word.

12 Abner sent messengers to David, who at that time was at Hebron,to say, “Who is going to rule this land? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you win all Israel over to your side.”

13 “Good!” David answered. “I will make an agreement with you on one condition: you must bring Saul’s daughter Michal to me when you come to see me.”

14 And David also sent messengers to Ishbosheth to say, “Give me back my wife Michal. I paid a hundred Philistine foreskins in order to marry her.”

15 So Ishbosheth had her taken from her husband Paltiel son of Laish.

16 Paltiel followed her all the way to the town of Bahurim, crying as he went. But when Abner said, “Go back home,” he did.

17 Abner went to the leaders of Israel and said to them, “For a long time you have wanted David to be your king.

18 Now here is your chance. Remember that the Lord has said, ‘I will use my servant David to rescue my people Israel from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.’”

19 Abner spoke also to the people of the tribe of Benjamin and then went to Hebron to tell David what the people of Benjamin and of Israel had agreed to do.

20 When Abner came to David at Hebron with twenty men, David gave a feast for them.

21 Abner told David, “I will go now and win all Israel over to Your Majesty. They will accept you as king, and then you will get what you have wanted and will rule over the whole land.” David gave Abner a guarantee of safety and sent him on his way.

Abner Is Murdered

22 Later on Joab and David’s other officials returned from a raid, bringing a large amount of loot with them. Abner, however, was no longer there at Hebron with David, because David had sent him away with a guarantee of safety.

23 When Joab and his men arrived, he was told that Abner had come to King David and had been sent away with a guarantee of safety.

24 So Joab went to the king and said to him, “What have you done? Abner came to you—why did you let him go like that?

25 He came here to deceive you and to find out everything you do and everywhere you go. Surely you know that!”

26 After leaving David, Joab sent messengers to get Abner, and they brought him back from Sirah Well; but David knew nothing about it.

27 When Abner arrived in Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate, as though he wanted to speak privately with him, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. And so Abner was murdered because he had killed Joab’s brother Asahel.

28 When David heard the news, he said, “The Lord knows that my subjects and I are completely innocent of the murder of Abner.

29 May the punishment for it fall on Joab and all his family! In every generation may there be some man in his family who has gonorrhea or a dreaded skin disease or is fit only to do a woman’s work or is killed in battle or doesn’t have enough to eat!”

30 So Joab and his brother Abishai took revenge on Abner for killing their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.

Abner Is Buried

31 Then David ordered Joab and his men to tear their clothes, wear sackcloth, and mourn for Abner. And at the funeral King David himself walked behind the coffin.

32 Abner was buried at Hebron, and the king wept aloud at the grave, and so did all the people.

33 David sang this lament for Abner:

“Why did Abner have to die like a fool?

34 His hands were not tied,

And his feet were not bound;

He died like someone killed by criminals!”

And the people wept for him again.

35 All day long the people tried to get David to eat something, but he made a solemn promise, “May God strike me dead if I eat anything before the day is over!”

36 They took note of this and were pleased. Indeed, everything the king did pleased the people.

37 All of David’s people and all the people in Israel understood that the king had no part in the murder of Abner.

38 The king said to his officials, “Don’t you realize that this day a great leader in Israel has died?

39 Even though I am the king chosen by God, I feel weak today. These sons of Zeruiah are too violent for me. May the Lord punish these criminals as they deserve!”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/3-3fd58e04becc0d11e4e3ff355821a627.mp3?version_id=68—

Ishbosheth Is Murdered

1 When Saul’s son Ishbosheth heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron, he was afraid, and all the people of Israel were alarmed.

2 Ishbosheth had two officers who were leaders of raiding parties, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon, from Beeroth in the tribe of Benjamin. (Beeroth is counted as part of Benjamin.

3 Its original inhabitants had fled to Gittaim, where they have lived ever since.)

4 Another descendant of Saul was Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed. When the news about their death came from the city of Jezreel, his nurse picked him up and fled; but she was in such a hurry that she dropped him, and he became crippled.

5 Rechab and Baanah set out for Ishbosheth’s house and arrived there about noon, while he was taking his midday rest.

6 The woman at the door had become drowsy while she was sifting wheat and had fallen asleep, so Rechab and Baanah slipped in.

7 Once inside, they went to Ishbosheth’s bedroom, where he was sound asleep, and killed him. Then they cut off his head, took it with them, and walked all night through the Jordan Valley.

8 They presented the head to King David at Hebron and said to him, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul, who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has allowed Your Majesty to take revenge on Saul and his descendants.”

9 David answered them, “I take a vow by the living Lord, who has saved me from all dangers!

10 The messenger who came to me at Ziklag and told me of Saul’s death thought he was bringing good news. I seized him and had him put to death. That was the reward I gave him for his good news!

11 How much worse it will be for evil men who murder an innocent man asleep in his own house! I will now take revenge on you for murdering him and will wipe you off the face of the earth!”

12 David gave the order, and his soldiers killed Rechab and Baanah and cut off their hands and feet, which they hung up near the pool in Hebron. They took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb there at Hebron.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/4-57ad3d7653970429966a15858dff8258.mp3?version_id=68—

David Becomes King of Israel and Judah

1 Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood.

2 In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.”

3 So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel.

4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years.

5 He ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years, and in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

6 The time came when King David and his men set out to attack Jerusalem. The Jebusites, who lived there, thought that David would not be able to conquer the city, and so they said to him, “You will never get in here; even the blind and the crippled could keep you out.” (

7 But David did capture their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David’s City.”)

8 That day David said to his men, “Does anybody here hate the Jebusites as much as I do? Enough to kill them? Then go up through the water tunnel and attack those poor blind cripples.” (That is why it is said, “The blind and the crippled cannot enter the Lord’s house.”)

9 After capturing the fortress, David lived in it and named it “David’s City.” He built the city around it, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill.

10 He grew stronger all the time, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

11 King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with carpenters and stone masons to build a palace.

12 And so David realized that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.

13 After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David took more concubines and wives, and had more sons and daughters.

14 The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

Victory over the Philistines

17 The Philistines were told that David had been made king of Israel, so their army set out to capture him. When David heard of it, he went down to a fortified place.

18 The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and occupied it.

19 David asked the Lord, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?”

“Yes, attack!” the Lord answered. “I will give you the victory!”

20 So David went to Baal Perazim and there he defeated the Philistines. He said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies like a flood.” And so that place is called Baal Perazim.

21 When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David and his men carried them away.

22 Then the Philistines went back to Rephaim Valley and occupied it again.

23 Once more David consulted the Lord, who answered, “Don’t attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees.

24 When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.”

25 David did what the Lord had commanded, and was able to drive the Philistines back from Geba all the way to Gezer.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/5-42de5f519d3380f7870e56cb28b53fc7.mp3?version_id=68—

The Covenant Box Is Brought to Jerusalem

1 Once more David called together the best soldiers in Israel, a total of thirty thousand men,

2 and led them to Baalahin Judah, in order to bring from there God’s Covenant Box, bearing the name of the Lord Almighty, whose throne is above the winged creatures.

3 They took it from Abinadab’s home on the hill and placed it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart,

4 with Ahio walking in front.

5 David and all the Israelites were dancing and singing with all their mightto honor the Lord. They were playing harps, lyres, drums, rattles, and cymbals.

6 As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box.

7 At once the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence.Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box,

8 and so that place has been called Perez Uzzahever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.

9 Then David was afraid of the Lord and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?”

10 So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath.

11 It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his family.

12 King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the Lord had blessed Obed Edom’s family and all that he had; so he got the Covenant Box from Obed’s house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration.

13 After the men carrying the Covenant Box had gone six steps, David had them stop while he offered the Lord a sacrifice of a bull and a fattened calf.

14 David, wearing only a linen cloth around his waist, danced with all his might to honor the Lord.

15 And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him.

17 They brought the Box and put it in its place in the Tent that David had set up for it. Then he offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to the Lord.

18 When he had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty

19 and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat,and some raisins. Then everyone went home.

20 Afterward, when David went home to greet his family, Michal came out to meet him. “The king of Israel made a big name for himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself like a fool in the sight of the servant women of his officials!”

21 David answered, “I was dancing to honor the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and his family to make me the leader of his people Israel. And I will go on dancing to honor the Lord,

22 and will disgrace myself even more. Youmay think I am nothing, but those women will think highly of me!”

23 Michal, Saul’s daughter, never had any children.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/6-7737fc0ffecc9c54f9471e61e94a84a9.mp3?version_id=68—

Nathan’s Message to David

1 King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord kept him safe from all his enemies.

2 Then the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God’s Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

3 Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.”

4 But that night the Lord said to Nathan,

5 “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in.

6 From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have traveled around living in a tent.

7 In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leadersthat I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

8 “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel.

9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world.

10-11 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to keep you safe from all your enemies and to give you descendants.

12 When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong.

13 He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever.

14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him as a father punishes his son.

15 But I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king.

16 You will always have descendants, and I will make your kingdom last forever. Your dynasty will never end.’”

17 Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

18 Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord’s presence, sat down and prayed, “Sovereign Lord, I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, nor is my family.

19 Yet now you are doing even more, Sovereign Lord; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come. And you let a man see this,Sovereign Lord!

20 What more can I say to you! You know me, your servant.

21 It was your will and purpose to do this; you have done all these great things in order to instruct me.

22 How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God.

23 There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for themhave spread your fame throughout the world. You drove outother nations and their gods as your people advanced, the people whom you set free from Egypt to be your own.

24 You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

25 “And now, Lord God, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would.

26 Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time.

27 Lord Almighty, God of Israel! I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings.

28 “And now, Sovereign Lord, you are God; you always keep your promises, and you have made this wonderful promise to me.

29 I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Sovereign Lord, have promised this, and your blessing will rest on my descendants forever.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/7-eaad09ba48469e3b0c789c9b33a70f19.mp3?version_id=68—

David’s Military Victories

1 Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again, defeated them, and ended their control over the land.

2 Then he defeated the Moabites. He made the prisoners lie down on the ground and put two out of every three of them to death. So the Moabites became his subjects and paid taxes to him.

3 Then he defeated the king of the Syrian state of Zobah, Hadadezer son of Rehob, as Hadadezer was on his way to restore his control over the territory by the upper Euphrates River.

4 David captured seventeen hundred of his cavalry and twenty thousand of his foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.

5 When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men.

6 Then he set up military camps intheir territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.

7 David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer’s officials and took them to Jerusalem.

8 He also took a great quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, cities ruled by Hadadezer.

9 King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated all of Hadadezer’s army.

10 So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram took David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze.

11 King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he had conquered—

12 Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek—as well as part of the loot he had taken from Hadadezer.

13 David became even more famous when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley.

14 He set up military campsthroughout Edom, and the people there became his subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.

15 David ruled over all of Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly.

16 Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, was the commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records;

17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the court secretary;

18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge ofDavid’s bodyguards; and David’s sons were priests.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/8-2ddb41f61252fc6475dcbf0119cd8586.mp3?version_id=68—

David and Mephibosheth

1 One day David asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family? If there is, I would like to show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake.”

2 There was a servant of Saul’s family named Ziba, and he was told to go to David. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.

“At your service, sir,” he answered.

3 The king asked him, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family to whom I can show loyalty and kindness, as I promised God I would?”

Ziba answered, “There is still one of Jonathan’s sons. He is crippled.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

“At the home of Machir son of Ammiel in Lodebar,” Ziba answered.

5 So King David sent for him.

6 When Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, arrived, he bowed down before David in respect. David said, “Mephibosheth,” and he answered, “At your service, sir.”

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David replied. “I will be kind to you for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will give you back all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always be welcome at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed again and said, “I am no better than a dead dog, sir! Why should you be so good to me?”

9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said, “I am giving Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, everything that belonged to Saul and his family.

10 You, your sons, and your servants will farm the land for your master Saul’s family and bring in the harvest, to provide food for them. But Mephibosheth himself will always be a guest at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Ziba answered, “I will do everything Your Majesty commands.”

So Mephibosheth ate at the king’stable, just like one of the king’s sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. All the members of Ziba’s family became servants of Mephibosheth.

13 So Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem, eating all his meals at the king’s table.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/9-6432d2ae7ed77e7540ecf478b70dbaa4.mp3?version_id=68—

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

1 Some time later King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king.

2 King David said, “I must show loyal friendship to Hanun, as his father Nahash did to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy.

When they arrived in Ammon,

3 the Ammonite leaders said to the king, “Do you think that it is in your father’s honor that David has sent these men to express sympathy to you? Of course not! He has sent them here as spies to explore the city, so that he can conquer us!”

4 Hanun seized David’s messengers, shaved off one side of their beards, cut off their clothes at the hips, and sent them away.

5 They were too ashamed to return home. When David heard about what had happened, he sent word for them to stay in Jericho and not return until their beards had grown again.

6 The Ammonites realized that they had made David their enemy, so they hired twenty thousand Syrian soldiers from Bethrehob and Zobah, twelve thousand men from Tob, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men.

7 David heard of it and sent Joab against them with the whole army.

8 The Ammonites marched out and took up their position at the entrance to Rabbah, their capital city, while the others, both the Syrians and the men from Tob and Maacah, took up their position in the open countryside.

9 Joab saw that the enemy troops would attack him in front and from the rear, so he chose the best of Israel’s soldiers and put them in position facing the Syrians.

10 He placed the rest of his troops under the command of his brother Abishai, who put them in position facing the Ammonites.

11 Joab said to him, “If you see that the Syrians are defeating me, come and help me, and if the Ammonites are defeating you, I will go and help you.

12 Be strong and courageous! Let’s fight hard for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord’s will be done!”

13 Joab and his men advanced to attack, and the Syrians fled.

14 When the Ammonites saw the Syrians running away, they fled from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab turned back from fighting the Ammonites and went back to Jerusalem.

15 The Syrians realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, and so they called all their troops together.

16 King Hadadezer sent for the Syrians who were on the east side of the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam under the command of Shobach, commander of the army of King Hadadezer of Zobah.

17 When David heard of it, he gathered the Israelite troops, crossed the Jordan River, and marched to Helam, where the Syrians took up their position facing him. The fighting began,

18 and the Israelites drove the Syrian army back. David and his men killed seven hundred Syrian chariot drivers and forty thousand cavalry, and they wounded Shobach, the enemy commander, who died on the battlefield.

19 When the kings who were subject to Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, they made peace with them and became their subjects. And the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/10-c49053d7e7740abf10198f908fe45c9d.mp3?version_id=68—

David and Bathsheba

1 The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, David sent out Joab with his officers and the Israelite army; they defeated the Ammonites and besieged the city of Rabbah. But David himself stayed in Jerusalem.

2 One day, late in the afternoon, David got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. As he walked around up there, he saw a woman taking a bath in her house. She was very beautiful.

3 So he sent a messenger to find out who she was, and learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

4 David sent messengers to get her; they brought her to him and he made love to her. (She had just finished her monthly ritual of purification.) Then she went back home.

5 Afterward she discovered that she was pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him.

6 David then sent a message to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David.

7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him if Joab and the troops were well, and how the fighting was going.

8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go on home and rest a while.” Uriah left, and David had a present sent to his home.

9 But Uriah did not go home; instead he slept at the palace gate with the king’s guards.

10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he asked him, “You have just returned after a long absence; why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah answered, “The men of Israel and Judah are away in battle, and the Covenant Box is with them; my commander Joab and his officers are camping out in the open. How could I go home, eat and drink, and sleep with my wife? By all that’s sacred, I swear that I could never do such a thing!”

12 So David said, “Then stay here the rest of the day, and tomorrow I’ll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.

13 David invited him to supper and got him drunk. But again that night Uriah did not go home; instead he slept on his blanketin the palace guardroom.

14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah.

15 He wrote: “Put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting is heaviest, then retreat and let him be killed.”

16 So while Joab was besieging the city, he sent Uriah to a place where he knew the enemy was strong.

17 The enemy troops came out of the city and fought Joab’s forces; some of David’s officers were killed, and so was Uriah.

18 Then Joab sent a report to David telling him about the battle,

19 and he instructed the messenger, “After you have told the king all about the battle,

20 he may get angry and ask you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight them? Didn’t you realize that they would shoot arrows from the walls?

21 Don’t you remember how Abimelech son of Gideon was killed? It was at Thebez, where a woman threw a millstone down from the wall and killed him. Why, then, did you go so near the wall?’ If the king asks you this, tell him, ‘Your officer Uriah was also killed.’”

22 So the messenger went to David and told him what Joab had commanded him to say.

23 He said, “Our enemies were stronger than we were and came out of the city to fight us in the open, but we drove them back to the city gate.

24 Then they shot arrows at us from the wall, and some of Your Majesty’s officers were killed; your officer Uriah was also killed.”

25 David said to the messenger, “Encourage Joab and tell him not to be upset, since you never can tell who will die in battle. Tell him to launch a stronger attack on the city and capture it.”

26 When Bathsheba heard that her husband had been killed, she mourned for him.

27 When the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to the palace; she became his wife and bore him a son. But the Lord was not pleased with what David had done.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/2SA/11-1452ecf64998d8bc5758cd1b643d6195.mp3?version_id=68—