181 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote the Moabites; and the Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts. 3 And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah, at Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot [horses], but reserved of them [for] a hundred chariots. 5 And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men. 6 And David put [garrisons] in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, [and] brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
9 And Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadarezer king of Zobah; 10 and he sent Hadoram his son to king David to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him; for Hadarezer was continually at war with Tou; [he sent] also all manner of vessels of gold and silver and bronze. 11 Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had brought from all the nations: from the Edomites, and from the Moabites, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from the Amalekites. 12 And Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand. 13 And he put garrisons in Edom; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.
14 And David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice to all his people. 15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler; 16 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; 17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were the first at the king's hand.
191 And it came to pass after this that Nahash king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. 2 And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. 3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search and overthrow, and to spy out the land that his servants are come to thee? 4 And Hanun took David's servants, and had them shaved, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as the hip, and sent them away. 5 And [certain] went and told David concerning the men; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
6 And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and from the Syrians of Maacah, and from Zobah. 7 And they hired thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people; and they came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle. 8 And David heard [of it], and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men. 9 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the city; and the kings that had come were by themselves on the field. 10 And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians; 11 and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. 12 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee. 13 Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people, and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah will do what is good in his sight. 14 And Joab and the people that were with him drew near in front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him. 15 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. And Joab came to Jerusalem. 16 And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them. 17 And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came upon them, and set [the battle] in array against them. And David put the battle in array against the Syrians, and they fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled from before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand [in] chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and slew Shophach the captain of the host. 19 And the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with David, and became his servants. And the Syrians would no more help the children of Ammon.
201 And it came to pass at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that Joab led forth the power of the army, and laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it. 2 And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was [set] upon David's head: and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. 3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with the saw, and with harrows of iron, and with saws. And so David did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
4 And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbechai the Hushathite smote Sippai, one of the children of Rapha; and they were subdued. 5 And there was again a battle with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair smote Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite; now the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam. 6 And there was again a battle, at Gath; and there was a man [there] of great stature, whose fingers [and toes] were four and twenty, six [on each hand], and six [on each foot]; and he also was born to Rapha. 7 And he defied Israel; but Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother smote him. 8 These were born to Rapha in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
211 And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. 3 And Joab said, Jehovah add to his people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold: are they not all, my lord O king, my lord's servants? why does my lord require this thing? why should he become a trespass to Israel? 4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab; and Joab departed, and went through all Israel, and came [again] to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. And all they of Israel were eleven hundred thousand men that drew sword; and of Judah, four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword. 6 But Levi and Benjamin he did not count among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
7 And God was displeased on account of this thing, and he smote Israel. 8 And David said to God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing; and now, I beseech thee, put away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 9 And Jehovah spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, 10 Go and speak to David saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I offer thee three [things]; choose one of them, that I may do it unto thee. 11 And Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah: 12 Choose thee, either three years of famine, or three months to be destroyed before thine adversaries while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee, or three days the sword of Jehovah and the pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying through all the borders of Israel. And now consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. 13 And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for his mercies are very great; but let me not fall into the hand of man. 14 And Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough; withdraw now thine hand. And the angel of Jehovah stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah stand between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned and done evil; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, Jehovah my God, be on me and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be smitten.
18 And the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and rear an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of Jehovah. 20 And Ornan turned back and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. 21 And David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with [his] face to the ground. 22 And David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of the threshing-floor, that I may build an altar in it to Jehovah: grant it to me for the full money, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 23 And Ornan said to David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his sight: see, I give the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-sledges for wood, and the wheat for the oblation; I give it all. 24 And king David said to Ornan, No; but I will in any case buy [them] for the full money; for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, to offer up a burnt-offering without cost. 25 And David gave to Ornan for the place in shekels of gold the weight of six hundred [shekels]. 26 And David built there an altar to Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from the heavens by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. 27 And Jehovah spoke to the angel; and he put up his sword again into its sheath.
28 At that time when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. 29 And the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.
