- Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remains under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.
- And it came to pass, the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the Lord: You shall not build me a house to dwell in, for I have not dwelled in a house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedars?
- Now therefore, thus shall you say unto my servant David: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: I took you from the sheep enclosure, even from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have walked, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Also, I will ordain a place for my people Israel and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place and shall be moved no more, neither shall the children of wickedness waste them anymore, as at the beginning and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover, I will subdue all your enemies.
- Furthermore, I tell you that the Lord will build you a house. And it shall come to pass, when your days are expired, that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up seed after you which shall be of your sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son, and I will not take my mercy away from him as I took it from him that was before you. But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever, and his throne shall be established for ever.
- According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
- And David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me hitherto? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O God, for you have also spoken of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.
- What can David speak more to you for the honor of your servant? For you know your servant. O Lord, for your servant’s sake, and according to your own heart, have you done all this greatness in making known all these great things. O Lord, there is none like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people? To make you a name of greatness and terror by driving out nations from before your people whom you have redeemed out of Egypt? For your people Israel did you make your own people for ever; and you, Lord, became their God.
- Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as you have said. Let it even be established, that your name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of Hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel. And let the house of David your servant be established before you. For you, O my God, have told your servant that you will build him a house; therefore, your servant has found in his heart to pray before you. And now, Lord, you are God and have promised this goodness unto your servant. Now therefore let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may be before you for ever. For you bless, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.
- Now after this, it came to pass that David smote the Philistines and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants and brought gifts. And David smote Hadadezer, king of Zobah, unto Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David also hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them a hundred chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Syria-Damascus, and the Syrians became David’s servants and brought gifts. Thus, the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
- And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. Likewise from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, brought David very much brass, with which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
- Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer king of Zobah, he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him — for Hadadezer had war with Tou — and with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass. Them also king David dedicated unto the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations: from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
- Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand. And he put garrisons in Edom and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus, the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
- So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder; and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David were chief about the king.
- Now it came to pass after this that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon, to Hanun, to comfort him.
- But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Do you think that David does honor your father that he has sent comforters unto you? Have not his servants come unto you in order to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
- Then there went certain and told David how the men were served, and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Remain at Jericho until your beards are grown, and then return.
- And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-Maacah, and out of Zobah. So they hired thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities and came to battle.
- And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the children of Ammon came out and put the battle in array before the gate of the city, and the kings that had come were by themselves in the field.
- Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel and put them in array against the Syrians. And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai, his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people and for the cities of our God, and let the Lord do that which is good in his sight.
- So Joab and the people that were with him drew near before the Syrians unto the battle, and they fled before him. And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.
- And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river. And Shophach, the captain of the host of Hadadezer, went before them.
- And it was told to David, and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. But the Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men who fought in chariots, and forty thousand foot soldiers, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.
- And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. Neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon anymore.
- And it came to pass that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah; but David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah and destroyed it. 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 also exceedingly much spoil out of the city. And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
- And it came to pass after this that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai that was of the children of the giant; and they were subdued. And there was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam. And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were twenty-four — six on each hand and six on each foot. And he also was the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
Chapter 9