221 David prayed to God the words of this song after God saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.
2 God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. 3 My God - the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout; My mountaintop refuge, he saves me from ruthless men. 4 I sing to God the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved. 5 The waves of death crashed over me, devil waters rushed over me. 6 Hell's ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit. 7 A hostile world! I called to God, to my God I cried out. From his palace he heard me call; my cry brought me right into his presence - a private audience! 8 Earth wobbled and lurched; the very heavens shook like leaves, Quaked like aspen leaves because of his rage. 9 His nostrils flared, billowing smoke; his mouth spit fire. Tongues of fire darted in and out; 10 he lowered the sky. He stepped down; under his feet an abyss opened up. 11 He rode a winged creature, swift on wind-wings. 12 He wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black rain-cloud darkness. 13 But his cloud-brightness burst through, a grand comet of fireworks. 14 Then God thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout. 15 God shot his arrows - pandemonium! He hurled his lightnings - a rout! 16 The secret sources of ocean were exposed, the hidden depths of earth lay uncovered The moment God roared in protest, let loose his hurricane anger. 17 But me he caught - reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out 18 Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. 19 They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me. 20 He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved - surprised to be loved! 21 God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start. 22 Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways; I haven't taken God for granted. 23 Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick. 24 I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. 25 God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes. 26 You stick by people who stick with you, you're straight with people who're straight with you, 27 You're good to good people, you shrewdly work around the bad ones. 28 You take the side of the down-and-out, but the stuck-up you take down a peg. 29 Suddenly, God, your light floods my path, God drives out the darkness. 30 I smash the bands of marauders, I vault the high fences. 31 What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him Makes it. 32 Is there any god like God? Are we not at bedrock? 33 Is not this the God who armed me well, then aimed me in the right direction? 34 Now I run like a deer; I'm king of the mountain. 35 He shows me how to fight; I can bend a bronze bow! 36 You protect me with salvation-armor; you touch me and I feel ten feet tall. 37 You cleared the ground under me so my footing was firm. 38 When I chased my enemies I caught them; I didn't let go till they were dead men. 39 I nailed them; they were down for good; then I walked all over them. 40 You armed me well for this fight; you smashed the upstarts. 41 You made my enemies turn tail, and I wiped out the haters. 42 They cried "uncle" but Uncle didn't come; They yelled for God and got no for an answer. 43 I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind. I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter. 44 You rescued me from a squabbling people; you made me a leader of nations. People I'd never heard of served me; 45 the moment they got wind of me they submitted. 46 They gave up; they came trembling from their hideouts. 47 Live, God! Blessing to my Rock, my towering Salvation-God! 48 This God set things right for me and shut up the people who talked back. 49 He rescued me from enemy anger. You pulled me from the grip of upstarts, You saved me from the bullies. 50 That's why I'm thanking you, God, all over the world. That's why I'm singing songs that rhyme your name. 51 God's king takes the trophy; God's chosen is beloved. I mean David and all his children - always.
231 These are David's last words: The voice of the son of Jesse, the voice of the man God took to the top, Whom the God of Jacob made king, and Israel's most popular singer! 2 God's Spirit spoke through me, his words took shape on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel spoke to me, Israel's Rock-Mountain said, "Whoever governs fairly and well, who rules in the Fear-of-God, 4 Is like first light at daybreak without a cloud in the sky, Like green grass carpeting earth, glistening under fresh rain. 5 And this is just how my regime has been, for God guaranteed his covenant with me, Spelled it out plainly and kept every promised word - My entire salvation, my every desire. 6 But the devil's henchmen are like thorns culled and piled as trash; 7 Better not try to touch them; keep your distance with a rake or hoe. They'll make a glorious bonfire!
8 This is the listing of David's top men. Josheb-Basshebeth, the Tahkemonite. He was chief of the Three. He once put his spear to work against eight hundred - killed them all in a day. 9 Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite was the next of the elite Three. He was with David when the Philistines poked fun at them at Pas Dammim. When the Philistines drew up for battle, Israel retreated. 10 But Eleazar stood his ground and killed Philistines right and left until he was exhausted - but he never let go of his sword! A big win for God that day. The army then rejoined Eleazar, but all there was left to do was the clean-up. 11 Shammah son of Agee the Hararite was the third of the Three. The Philistines had mustered for battle at Lehi, where there was a field full of lentils. Israel fled before the Philistines 12 , but Shammah took his stand at the center of the field, successfully defended it, and routed the Philistines. Another great victory for God! 13 One day during harvest, the Three parted from the Thirty and joined David at the Cave of Adullam. A squad of Philistines had set up camp in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 While David was holed up in the Cave, the Philistines had their base camp in Bethlehem 15 David had a sudden craving and said, "Would I ever like a drink of water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem!" 16 So the Three penetrated the Philistine lines, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David wouldn't drink it; he poured it out as an offering to God, 17 saying, "There is no way, God, that I'll drink this! This isn't mere water, it's their life-blood - they risked their very lives to bring it!" So David refused to drink it. This is the sort of thing that the Three did. 18 Abishai brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah was the head of the Thirty. He once got credit for killing three hundred with his spear, but he was never named in the same breath as the Three. 19 He was the most respected of the Thirty and was their captain, but never got included among the Three 20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel was a vigorous man who accomplished a great deal. He once killed two lion cubs in Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he climbed down into a pit and killed a lion. 21 Another time he killed a formidable Egyptian. The Egyptian was armed with a spear and Benaiah went against him with nothing but a walking stick; he seized the spear from his grip and killed him with his own spear 22 These are the things that Benaiah son of Jehoiada is famous for. But neither did he ever get ranked with the Three. 23 He was held in greatest respect among the Thirty, but he never got included with the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard. 24 "The Thirty" consisted of: Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem; 25 Shammah the Harodite; Elika the Harodite; 26 Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; 27 Abiezer the Anathothite; Sibbecai the Hushathite; 28 Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai the Netophathite; 29 Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite; Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjaminites; 30 Benaiah the Pirathonite; Hiddai from the badlands of Gaash; 31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth the Barhumite; 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite; Jashen the Gizonite; 33 Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam son of Sharar the Urite; 34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite; Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite; 35 Hezro the Carmelite; Paarai the Arbite; 36 Igal son of Nathan, commander of the army of Hagrites 37 Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai the Beerothite, weapon bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah; 38 Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite 39 Uriah the Hittite. Thirty-seven, all told.
241 Once again God's anger blazed out against Israel. He tested David by telling him, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah." 2 So David gave orders to Joab and the army officers under him, "Canvass all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and get a count of the population. I want to know the number." 3 But Joab resisted the king: "May your God multiply people by the hundreds right before the eyes of my master the king, but why on earth would you do a thing like this?" 4 Nevertheless, the king insisted, and so Joab and the army officers left the king to take a census of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and began with Aroer and the town in the canyon of the Gadites near Jazer, 6 proceeded through Gilead, passed Hermon, then on to Dan, but detoured Sidon. 7 They covered Fort Tyre and all the Hivite and Canaanite cities, and finally reached the Negev of Judah at Beersheba. 8 They canvassed the whole country and after nine months and twenty days arrived back in Jerusalem. 9 Joab gave the results of the census to the king: 800,000 able-bodied fighting men in Israel; in Judah 500,000.
10 But when it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics. And David prayed to God, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done. But now God forgive my guilt - I've been really stupid." 11 When David got up the next morning, the word of God had already come to Gad the prophet, David's spiritual advisor, 12 "Go and give David this message: 'God has spoken thus: There are three things I can do to you; choose one out of the three and I'll see that it's done.'" 13 Gad came to deliver the message: "Do you want three years of famine in the land, or three months of running from your enemies while they chase you down, or three days of an epidemic on the country? Think it over and make up your mind. What shall I tell the one who sent me?" 14 David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by God, whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands." 15 So God let loose an epidemic from morning until suppertime. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand people died. 16 But when the angel reached out over Jerusalem to destroy it, God felt the pain of the terror and told the angel who was spreading death among the people, "Enough's enough! Pull back!" The angel of God had just reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel hovering between earth and sky, sword drawn and about to strike Jerusalem. David and the elders bowed in prayer and covered themselves with rough burlap. 17 When David saw the angel about to destroy the people, he prayed, "Please! I'm the one who sinned; I, the shepherd, did the wrong. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me and my family, not them."
18 That same day Gad came to David and said, "Go and build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." 19 David did what Gad told him, what God commanded. 20 Araunah looked up and saw David and his men coming his way; he met them, bowing deeply, honoring the king 21 and saying, "Why has my master the king come to see me?" "To buy your threshing floor," said David, "so I can build an altar to God here and put an end to this disaster." 22 "Oh," said Araunah, "let my master the king take and sacrifice whatever he wants. Look, here's an ox for the burnt offering and threshing paddles and ox-yokes for fuel 23 - Araunah gives it all to the king! And may God, your God, act in your favor." 24 But the king said to Araunah, "No. I've got to buy it from you for a good price; I'm not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice." 25 He built an altar to God there and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. God was moved by the prayers and that was the end of the disaster.
