2 Samuel 21

1 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of Jehovah. And Jehovah said, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death the Gibeonites.2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);3 and David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of Jehovah?4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.5 And they said unto the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,6 let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them.

7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Jehovah’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she bare to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before Jehovah, and they fell all seven together. And they were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.

10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water was poured upon them from heaven; and she suffered neither the birds of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, in the day that the Philistines slew Saul in Gilboa;13 and he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son: and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.14 And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.

15 And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David waxed faint;16 and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Israel.

18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again war with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph, who was of the sons of the giant.19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.20 And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, slew him.22 These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

2 Samuel 22

1 And David spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:2 and he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine;

3 God, my rock, in him will I take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; My saviour, thou savest me from violence.

4 I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

5 For the waves of death compassed me; The floods of ungodliness made me afraid:

6 The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.

7 In my distress I called upon Jehovah; Yea, I called unto my God: And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came into his ears.

8 Then the earth shook and trembled, The foundations of heaven quaked And were shaken, because he was wroth.

9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.

10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet.

11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

13 At the brightness before him Coals of fire were kindled.

14 Jehovah thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice.

15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; Lightning, and discomfited them.

16 Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare, By the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters;

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.

20 He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

21 Jehovah rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all his ordinances were before me; And as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

24 I was also perfect toward him; And I kept myself from mine iniquity.

25 Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his eyesight.

26 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;

27 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward.

28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save; But thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

29 For thou art my lamp, O Jehovah; And Jehovah will lighten my darkness.

30 For by thee I run upon a troop; By my God do I leap over a wall.

31 As for God, his way is perfect: The word of Jehovah is tried; He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him.

32 For who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?

33 God is my strong fortress; And he guideth the perfect in his way.

34 He maketh his feet like hinds’ feet, And setteth me upon my high places.

35 He teacheth my hands to war, So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.

36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; And thy gentleness hath made me great.

37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; And my feet have not slipped.

38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; Neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

39 And I have consumed them, and smitten them through, so that they cannot arise: Yea, they are fallen under my feet.

40 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

41 Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me.

42 They looked, but there was none to save; Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.

43 Then did I beat them small as the dust of the earth, I did crush them as the mire of the streets, and did spread them abroad.

44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people; Thou hast kept me to be the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

45 The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me: As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me.

46 The foreigners shall fade away, And shall come trembling out of their close places.

47 Jehovah liveth; And blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,

48 Even the God that executeth vengeance for me, And that bringeth down peoples under me,

49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me; Thou deliverest me from the violent man.

50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing praises unto thy name.

51 Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed, To David and to his seed, for evermore.

2 Samuel 23

1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse saith, And the man who was raised on high saith, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

2 The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, And his word was upon my tongue.

3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me: One that ruleth over men righteously, That ruleth in the fear of God,

4  He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, A morning without clouds, When the tender grass springeth out of the earth, Through clear shining after rain.

5 Verily my house is not so with God; Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things, and sure: For it is all my salvation, and all my desire, Although he maketh it not to grow.

6 But the ungodly shall be all of them as thorns to be thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with the hand;

7 But the man that toucheth them Must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear: And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.

8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite, against eight hundred slain at one time.

9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodai the son of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away.10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword; and Jehovah wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to take spoil.

11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.12 But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and Jehovah wrought a great victory.

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam; and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.14 And David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem.15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate!16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto Jehovah.17 And he said, Be it far from me, O Jehovah, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

18 And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred and slew them, and had a name among the three.19 Was he not most honorable of the three? therefore he was made their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three.

20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he slew the two sons of Ariel of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.21 And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear.22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men.23 He was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem,25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,29 Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash.31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite,34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,35 Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armorbearers to Joab the son of Zeruiah,38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.