Psalm 89 - 2 Samuel 9 - 2 Samuel 10 - 2 Samuel 11 - 2 Samuel 12

Psalm 89

1> I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

2I indeed declare, "Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them."

3"I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,

4'I will establish your seed forever, And build up your throne to all generations.'" Selah.

5The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.

6For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh,

7A very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, To be feared above all those who are around him?

8Yahweh, God of hosts, who is a mighty one, like you? Yah, your faithfulness is around you.

9You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them.

10You have broken Rahab in pieces, like one of the slain. You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

11The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours; The world and its fullness. You have founded them.

12The north and the south, you have created them. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.

13You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted.

14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face.

15Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh.

16In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted.

17For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted.

18For our shield belongs to Yahweh; Our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19Then you spoke in vision to your saints, And said, "I have bestowed strength on the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.

20I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil,

21With whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him.

22No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him.

23I will beat down his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him.

24But my faithfulness and my loving kindness will be with him. In my name, his horn will be exalted.

25I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers.

26He will call to me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation!'

27I will also appoint him my firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

28I will keep my loving kindness for him forevermore. My covenant will stand firm with him.

29I will also make his seed endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.

30If his children forsake my law, And don't walk in my ordinances;

31If they break my statutes, And don't keep my commandments;

32Then I will punish their sin with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.

33But I will not completely take my loving kindness from him, Nor allow my faithfulness to fail.

34I will not break my covenant, Nor alter what my lips have uttered.

35Once have I sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.

36His seed will endure forever, His throne like the sun before me.

37It will be established forever like the moon, The faithful witness in the sky." Selah.

38But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed.

39You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust.

40You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

41All who pass by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors.

42You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice.

43Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, And haven't supported him in battle.

44You have ended his splendor, And thrown his throne down to the ground.

45You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah.

46How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?

47Remember how short my time is! For what vanity have you created all the children of men!

48What man is he who shall live and not see death, Who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.

49Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, Which you swore to David in your faithfulness?

50Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, How I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples,

51With which your enemies have mocked, Yahweh, With which they have mocked the footsteps of your anointed one.

52Blessed be Yahweh forevermore. Amen, and Amen.

The Rise and Fall of Israel's Kingdom

2 Samuel 9

1David said, Is there yet any who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? 2There was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, Are you Ziba? He said, Your servant is he. 3The king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him? Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame of his feet. 4The king said to him, Where is he? Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar. 5Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. 6Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face, and did obeisance. David said, Mephibosheth. He answered, Behold, your servant! 7David said to him, "Don't be afraid of him; for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore you all the land of Saul your father; and you shall eat bread at my table continually." 8He did obeisance, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look on such a dead dog as I am?" 9Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "All that pertained to Saul and to all his house have I given to your master's son. 10You shall till the land for him, you, and your sons, and your servants; and you shall bring in [the fruits], that your master's son may have bread to eat: but Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread always at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11Then said Ziba to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so shall your servant do. As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons. 12Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. All that lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem; for he ate continually at the king's table. He was lame in both his feet.

2 Samuel 10

1It happened after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shown kindness to me. So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Hasn't David sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 4So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. 5When they told it to David, he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, Wait at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. 6When the children of Ammon saw that they were become odious to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men. 7When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 8The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. 9Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: 10The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and he put them in array against the children of Ammon. 11He said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the children of Ammon be too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God: and Yahweh do that which seems him good. 13So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. 14When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 15When the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River: and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer at their head. 17It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. 18The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians [the men of] seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the captain of their host, so that he died there. 19When all the kings who were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

2 Samuel 11

1It happened, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out [to battle], that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. 2It happened at evening, that David arose from off his bed, and walked on the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look on. 3David send and inquired after the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned to her house. 5The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child. 6David sent to Joab, [saying], Send me Uriah the Hittite. Joab sent Uriah to David. 7When Uriah was come to him, David asked of him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered. 8David said to Uriah, Go down to your house, and wash your feet. Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess [of food] from the king. 9But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and didn't go down to his house. 10When they had told David, saying, Uriah didn't go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Haven't you come from a journey? why did you not go down to your house? 11Uriah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field; shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing. 12David said to Uriah, Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the next day. 13When David had called him, he ate and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but didn't go down to his house. 14It happened in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15He wrote in the letter, saying, Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire you from him, that he may be struck, and die. 16It happened, when Joab kept watch on the city, that he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that valiant men were. 17The men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people, even of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. 18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; 19and he charged the messenger, saying, "When you have made an end of telling all the things concerning the war to the king, 20it shall be that, if the king's wrath arise, and he tells you, 'Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Didn't you know that they would shoot from the wall? 21who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Didn't a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?' then shall you say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'" 22So the messenger went, and came and shown David all that Joab had sent him for. 23The messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were on them even to the entrance of the gate. 24The shooters shot at your servants from off the wall; and some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 25Then David said to the messenger, Thus shall you tell Joab, Don't let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; make your battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage you him. 26When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband. 27When the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased Yahweh.

2 Samuel 12

1Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter. 4A traveler came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man who had come to him." 5David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is worthy to die! 6He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity!" 7Nathan said to David, "You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. 9Why have you despised the word of Yahweh, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11This is what Yahweh says: 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'" 13David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh." Nathan said to David, "Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die. 14However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh's enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15Nathan departed to his house. Yahweh struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick. 16David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth. 17The elders of his house arose, [and stood] beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18It happened on the seventh day, that the child died. The servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he didn't listen to our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead! 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? They said, He is dead. 20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing; and he came into the house of Yahweh, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate. 21Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that you have done? you did fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, you did rise and eat bread. 22He said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who knows whether Yahweh will not be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me. 24David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Yahweh loved him; 25and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he named him Jedidiah, for Yahweh's sake. 26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yes, I have taken the city of waters. 28Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. 29David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. 30He took the crown of their king from off his head; and the weight of it was a talent of gold, and [in it were] precious stones; and it was set on David's head. He brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much. 31He brought forth the people who were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln: and thus did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.