Hiram's Recognition of David

¹¹ And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent men to David, with cedar-trees and woodworkers and stoneworkers: and they made David a house. ¹² And David saw that the Lord had made his position safe as king over Israel, and that he had made his kingdom great because of his people Israel.

David's Children Born at Jerusalem

¹³ And David took more women and wives in Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron: and he had more sons and daughters. ¹⁴ These are the names of those whose birth took place in Jerusalem: Shammua and Shobab and Nathan and Solomon ¹⁵ And Ibhar and Elishua and Nepheg and Japhia ¹⁶ And Elishama and Eliada and Eliphelet.

David Defeats the Philistines

¹⁷ And when the Philistines had news that David had been made king over Israel, they all went up in search of David; and David, hearing of it, went down to the strong place. ¹⁸ And when the Philistines came, they went in every direction in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹ And David, desiring directions from the Lord, said, Am I to go up against the Philistines? will you give them up into my hands? And the Lord said, Go up, for I will certainly give up the Philistines into your hands. ²⁰ And David went to Baal-perazim, and overcame them there; and he said, The Lord has let the forces fighting against me be broken before me as a wall is broken by rushing waters. So that place was named Baal-perazim. ²¹ And the Philistines, when they went in flight, did not take their images with them, and David and his men took them away. ²² And the Philistines came up again, and went in every direction in the valley of Rephaim. ²³ And when David went for directions to the Lord, he said, You are not to go up against them in front; but make a circle round them from the back and come on them opposite the spice-trees. ²⁴ Then at the sound of footsteps in the tops of the trees, go forward quickly, for the Lord has gone out before you to overcome the army of the Philistines. ²⁵ And David did as the Lord had said; and he overcame the Philistines, attacking them from Gibeon to near Gezer.

David Goes to Bring the Ark

6¹ And David got together all the fighting-men of Israel to the number of thirty thousand; ² And David, and all the people who were with him, went to Baal of Judah to get the ark of God, over which the holy name is named, the name of the Lord of armies, whose place is between the winged ones. ³ And they put the ark of God on a new cart and took it out of the house of Abinadab which was on the hill: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were the drivers of the cart. ⁴ And Uzzah went by the side of the ark, while Ahio went before it. ⁵ And David and all the men of Israel made melody before the Lord with all their power, with songs and with corded instruments and instruments of brass.

⁶ And when they came to Nacon's grain-floor, Uzzah put his hand on the ark of God to keep it safe in its place, for the oxen were out of control. ⁷ And the wrath of the Lord, burning against Uzzah, sent destruction on him because he had put his hand on the ark, and death came to him there by the ark of God. ⁸ And David was angry because of the Lord's outburst of wrath against Uzzah: and he gave that place the name Perez-uzzah, which is its name to this day. ⁹ And such was David's fear of the Lord that day, that he said, How may I let the ark of God come to me? ¹⁰ So David did not let the ark of the Lord come back to him to the town of David: but had it turned away and put into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹ And the ark of the Lord was in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months: and the Lord sent a blessing on Obed-edom and all his family.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

¹² And they said to King David, The blessing of the Lord is on the family of Obed-edom and on all he has, because of the ark of God. And David went and took the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the town of David with joy. ¹³ And when those who were lifting the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he made an offering of an ox and a fat young beast. ¹⁴ And David, clothed in a linen ephod, was dancing before the Lord with all his strength. ¹⁵ So David and all the men of Israel took up the ark of the Lord with cries of joy and sounding of horns. ¹⁶ And when the ark of the Lord came into the town of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looking out of the window, saw King David dancing and jumping before the Lord; and to her mind he seemed foolish. ¹⁷ And they took in the ark of the Lord, and put it in its place inside the tent which David had put up for it: and David made burned offerings and peace-offerings to the Lord. ¹⁸ And after David had made the burned offerings and the peace-offerings, he gave the people a blessing in the name of the Lord of armies. ¹⁹ And he gave to every man and woman among all the people, among all the masses of Israel, a cake of bread and a measure of wine and a cake of dry grapes. Then all the people went away, every man to his house.

²⁰ Then David came back to give a blessing to his family. And Michal, Saul's daughter, came out to him and said, How full of glory was the king of Israel today, who let himself be seen uncovered by his servant-girls like a foolish person uncovering himself without shame! ²¹ And David said to Michal, I was dancing before the Lord, who put me over your father and all his sons, to make me a ruler over the people of the Lord, over his people Israel: and I will go on playing before the Lord; ²² And I will do even worse than this, and make myself even lower in your eyes: but the servant-girls of whom you were talking will give me honour. ²³ And Michal, Saul's daughter, had no child till the day of her death.

David Proposes to Bring the Ark to Jerusalem

13¹ Then David had discussions with the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds and with every chief. ² And David said to all the men of Israel who had come together there, If it seems good to you and if it is the purpose of the Lord our God, let us send to all the rest of our brothers, everywhere in the land of Israel, and to the priests and the Levites in their towns and the country round them, and get them to come together here to us; ³ And let us get back for ourselves the ark of our God: for in the days of Saul we did not go to it for directions. ⁴ And all the people said they would do so, for it seemed right to them.

David Goes to Get the Ark

⁵ So David sent for all Israel to come together, from Shihor, the river of Egypt, as far as the way into Hamath, to get the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ And David went up, with all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim in Judah, to get up from there the ark of God, over which the holy Name is named, the name of the Lord whose place is between the winged ones. ⁷ And they put the ark of God on a new cart, and took it out of the house of Abinadab; and Uzza and Ahio were the drivers of the cart. ⁸ Then David and all Israel made melody before God with all their strength, with songs and corded instruments of music, and with brass instruments and horns.

⁹ And when they came to the grain-floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to keep the ark in its place, for the oxen were slipping. ¹⁰ And the wrath of the Lord, burning against Uzza, sent destruction on him because he had put his hand on the ark, and death came to him there before God. ¹¹ And David was angry because of the Lord's outburst of wrath against Uzza, and he gave that place the name Perez-uzza, to this day. ¹² And so great was David's fear of God that day, that he said, How may I let the ark of God come to me? ¹³ So David did not let the ark come back to him to the town of David, but had it turned away and put into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God was in the house of Obed-edom for three months; and the Lord sent a blessing on the house of Obed-edom and on all he had.

Hiram's Recognition of David

14¹ And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent men to David with cedar-trees, and stoneworkers and woodworkers for the building of his house. ² And David saw that the Lord had made his position safe as king over Israel, lifting up his kingdom on high because of his people Israel.

David's Children Born at Jerusalem

³ And while he was living in Jerusalem, David took more wives and became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴ These are the names of the children he had in Jerusalem: Shammua and Shobab, Nathan and Solomon ⁵ And Ibhar and Elishua and Elpelet ⁶ And Nogah and Nepheg and Japhia ⁷ And Elishama and Beeliada and Eliphelet.

David Defeats the Philistines

⁸ And when the Philistines had news that David had been made king over all Israel, they went up in search of David, and David, hearing of it, went out against them. ⁹ Now the Philistines had come, and had gone out in every direction in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰ And David, desiring directions from God, said, Am I to go up against the Philistines? and will you give them into my hands? And the Lord said, Go up; for I will give them into your hands. ¹¹ So they went up to Baal-perazim, and David overcame them there, and David said, God has let the forces fighting against me be broken by my hand, as a wall is broken down by rushing water; so they gave that place the name of Baal-perazim. ¹² And the Philistines did not take their images with them in their flight; and at David's orders they were burned with fire. ¹³ Then the Philistines again went out in every direction in the valley. ¹⁴ And David went for directions to God; and God said to him, You are not to go up after them; but, turning away from them, come face to face with them opposite the spice-trees. ¹⁵ And at the sound of footsteps in the tops of the trees, go out to the fight, for God has gone out before you to overcome the army of the Philistines. ¹⁶ And David did as the Lord had said; and they overcame the army of the Philistines, attacking them from Gibeon as far as Gezer. ¹⁷ And David's name was honoured in all lands; and the Lord put the fear of him on all nations.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

15¹ And David made houses for himself in the town of David; and he got ready a place for the ark of God, and put up a tent for it. ² Then David said, The ark of God may not be moved by any but the Levites, for they have been marked out by God to take the ark of God, and to do his work for ever. ³ And David made all Israel come together at Jerusalem, to take the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had got ready for it. ⁴ And David got together the sons of Aaron, and the Levites; ⁵ Of the sons of Kohath: Uriel the chief, and his brothers, a hundred and twenty; ⁶ Of the sons of Merari: Asaiah the chief, and his brothers, two hundred and twenty; ⁷ Of the sons of Gershom: Joel the chief, and his brothers, a hundred and thirty; ⁸ Of the sons of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the chief, and his brothers, two hundred; ⁹ Of the sons of Hebron: Eliel the chief, and his brothers, eighty; ¹⁰ Of the sons of Uzziel: Amminadab the chief, and his brothers, a hundred and twelve. ¹¹ And David sent for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, Uriel, Asaiah and Joel, Shemaiah and Eliel and Amminadab, ¹² And said to them, You are the heads of the families of the Levites: make yourselves holy, you and your brothers, so that you may take the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place which I have made ready for it. ¹³ For because you did not take it at the first, the Lord our God sent punishment on us, because we did not get directions from him in the right way. ¹⁴ So the priests and the Levites made themselves holy to take up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ And the sons of the Levites took up the ark of God, lifting it by its rods, as the Lord had said to Moses. ¹⁶ And David gave orders to the chief of the Levites to put their brothers the music-makers in position, with instruments of music, corded instruments and brass, with glad voices making sounds of joy. ¹⁷ So Heman, the son of Joel, and, of his brothers, Asaph, the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brothers, Ethan, the son of Kushaiah, were put in position by the Levites; ¹⁸ And with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Bani and Jaaziel and Shemiramoth and Jehiel and Unni, Eliab and Benaiah and Maaseiah and Mattithiah and Eliphelehu and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom and Jeiel, the door-keepers. ¹⁹ So those who made melody, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were put in position, with brass instruments, sounding loudly; ²⁰ And Zechariah and Aziel and Shemiramoth and Jehiel, Unni and Eliab and Maaseiah and Benaiah, with corded instruments put to Alamoth. ²¹ And Mattithiah and Eliphelehu and Mikneiah and Obed-edom and Jeiel and Azaziah, with corded instruments on the octave, to give the first note of the song. ²² And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was master of the music: he gave directions about the song, because he was expert. ²³ And Berechiah and Elkanah were door-keepers for the ark. ²⁴ And Shebaniah and Joshaphat and Nethanel and Amasai and Zechariah and Benaiah and Eliezer, the priests, made music on the horns before the ark of God; and Obed-edom and Jehiah were door-keepers for the ark.

²⁵ So David, and the responsible men of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went with joy to get the ark of the agreement of the Lord out of the house of Obed-edom. ²⁶ And when God gave help to the Levites who were lifting up the ark of the agreement of the Lord, they made an offering of seven oxen and seven sheep. ²⁷ And David was clothed with a robe of fair linen, as were all the Levites who took up the ark, and those who made melody, and Chenaniah the master of those who made melody; and David had on a linen ephod; ²⁸ So all Israel took up the ark of the agreement of the Lord, with loud cries and with horns and brass and corded instruments sounding loudly. ²⁹ And when the ark of the agreement of the Lord came into the town of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looking out of the window, saw King David dancing and playing; and to her mind he seemed foolish.

16¹ Then they took in the ark of God and put it inside the tent which David had put up for it; and they made offerings, burned offerings and peace-offerings before God. ² And when David had come to an end of making the burned offerings and peace-offerings, he gave the people a blessing in the name of the Lord. ³ And he gave to everyone, every man and woman of Israel, a cake of bread, some meat, and a cake of dry grapes. ⁴ And he put some of the Levites before the ark of the Lord as servants, to keep the acts of the Lord in memory, and to give worship and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Uzziel and Shemiramoth and Jehiel and Mattithiah and Eliab and Benaiah and Obed-edom and Jeiel, with corded instruments of music; and Asaph, with brass instruments sounding loudly; ⁶ And Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests, blowing horns all the time before the ark of the agreement of God.

David's Psalm of Thanksgiving

⁷ Then on that day David first made the giving of praise to the Lord the work of Asaph and his brothers. ⁸ O give praise to the Lord; give honour to his name, talking of his doings among the peoples. ⁹ Let your voice be sounded in songs and melody; let all your thoughts be of the wonder of his works. ¹⁰ Have glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who are searching after the Lord be glad. ¹¹ Let your search be for the Lord and for his strength; let your hearts ever be turned to him. ¹² Keep in mind the great works which he has done; his wonders, and the decisions of his mouth; ¹³ O you seed of Israel his servant, you children of Jacob, his loved ones. ¹⁴ He is the Lord our God: he is judge of all the earth. ¹⁵ He has kept his agreement in mind for ever, the word which he gave for a thousand generations; ¹⁶ The agreement which he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac; ¹⁷ And he gave it to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an eternal agreement; ¹⁸ Saying, To you will I give the land of Canaan, the measured line of your heritage: ¹⁹ When you were still small in number, and strange in the land; ²⁰ When they went about from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people; ²¹ He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them, ²² Saying, Put not your hand on those who have been marked with my holy oil, and do my prophets no wrong. ²³ Make songs to the Lord, all the earth; give the good news of his salvation day by day. ²⁴ Make clear his glory to the nations, and his wonders to all the peoples. ²⁵ For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; and he is more to be feared than all other gods. ²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are false gods; but the Lord made the heavens. ²⁷ Honour and glory are before him: strength and joy are in his holy place. ²⁸ Give to the Lord, O you families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. ²⁹ Give to the Lord the glory of his name; take with you an offering and come before him; give worship to the Lord in holy robes. ³⁰ Be in fear before him, all the earth: the world is ordered so that it may not be moved. ³¹ Let the heavens have joy and let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, The Lord is King. ³² Let the sea be thundering with all its waters; let the field be glad, and everything which is in it; ³³ Then let all the trees of the wood be sounding with joy before the Lord, for he is come to be the judge of the earth. ³⁴ O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. ³⁵ And say, Be our saviour, O God of our salvation, and let us come back, and give us salvation from the nations, so that we may give honour to your holy name and have glory in your praise. ³⁶ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for ever and for ever. And all the people said, So be it; and gave praise to the Lord.

The Levites Appointed for the Ark

³⁷ So he made Asaph and his brothers keep their places there before the ark of the agreement of the Lord, to do whatever had to be done before the ark at all times day by day: ³⁸ And Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, with their brothers, sixty-eight of them, to be door-keepers: ³⁹ And Zadok the priest, with his brothers the priests, before the House of the Lord in the high place at Gibeon; ⁴⁰ To give burned offerings to the Lord on the altar of burned offerings morning and evening, every day, as it is ordered in the law of the Lord which he gave to Israel; ⁴¹ And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were marked out by name to give praise to the Lord, for his mercy is unchanging for ever; ⁴² And Heman and Jeduthun had horns and brass instruments sounding loudly, and instruments of music for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun were to be at the door. ⁴³ And all the people went away, every man to his house; and David went back to give a blessing to his family.