David Defeats the Philistines

17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down ^kto the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in ^lthe Valley of Rephaim.

Philistines Defeated

8 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and ^ymade a raid in the ^zValley of Rephaim.

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the ^wcave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped ^xin the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then ^yin the stronghold, and ^zthe garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink ^athe blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the ^rValley of Rephaim. 16 David was then in the stronghold, and the ^sgarrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 17 And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord 19 and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

19 And David ^minquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” ⁿTherefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.¹ 21 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

22 And the Philistines came up yet again ^oand spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 ^pAnd when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And ^qwhen you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, ^rfor then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba ^sto Gezer.

10 And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” 11 And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through¹ my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. 12 And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned.

13 And the Philistines yet again ^amade a raid in the valley. 14 And when David again inquired of God, ^bGod said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 15 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16 And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. 17 And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the ^cfear of him upon all nations.

6 ^cAnd the king and his men went to Jerusalem ^dagainst the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, ^ethat is, the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 And David lived in the stronghold and called it ^ethe city of David. And David built the city all around from the ^fMillo inward.

David Takes Jerusalem

4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, ^hthat is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, ⁱthe inhabitants of the land. 5 The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 6 David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first ^jshall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. 7 And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David.

10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

11 ^gAnd ^hHiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. 12 And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

8 And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. 9 And David ^kbecame greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

David’s Wives and Children

1 ^tAnd Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. 2 And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

1 David¹ built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and ^dpitched a tent for it.

The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

1 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers ^dwho remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. 3 Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, ^efor we did not seek it¹ in the days of Saul.” 4 All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

1 ^tDavid again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^uBaale-judah ^vto bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts ^wwho sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God ^xon a new cart and brought it ^yout of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,¹ the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God,² and Ahio went before the ark.

Uzzah and the Ark

5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with ^zsongs³ and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of ^aNacon, Uzzah ^bput out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and ^cGod struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah⁴ to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside ^dto the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, ^eand the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

Uzzah and the Ark

5 ^fSo David assembled all Israel ^gfrom the ^hNile¹ of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God ⁱfrom Kiriath-jearim. 6 ^jAnd David and all Israel went up to ^kBaalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who ^lsits enthroned above the cherubim. 7 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of ^mAbinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio² were driving the cart. 8 And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and ⁿlyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

9 And when they came to the threshing floor of ^oChidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down ^pbecause he put out his hand to the ark, and ^qhe died there before God. 11 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza³ to this day. 12 And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” 13 So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house ^rof Obed-edom the Gittite. 14 And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. ^sAnd the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^fSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom ^gto the city of David with rejoicing.

2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry ^ethe ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. 3 ^fAnd David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord ^gto its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and ^hthe Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. 11 Then David summoned the priests ⁱZadok and ^jAbiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. ^kConsecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, ^lto the place that I have prepared for it. 13 ^mBecause you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders ⁿwith the poles, ^oas Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.