2Samuel:17-24
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*
Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom ,
Let me now choose out twelve thousand men ,
and I will arise and pursue after David this night :
*
And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed ,
and will make him afraid :
and all the people that are with him shall flee ;
and I will smite the king only :
*
And I will bring back all the people unto thee :
the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned :
so all the people shall be in peace .
*
And the saying pleased Absalom well ,
and all the elders of Israel .
*
Then said Absalom ,
Call now Hushai the Archite also ,
and let us hear likewise what he saith .
*
And when Hushai was come to Absalom ,
Absalom spake unto him ,
saying ,
Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner :
shall we do after his saying ?
if not ;
speak thou .
*
And Hushai said unto Absalom ,
The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time .
*
For ,
said Hushai ,
thou knowest thy father and his men ,
that they be mighty men ,
and they be chafed in their minds ,
as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field :
and thy father is a man of war ,
and will not lodge with the people .
*
Behold ,
he is hid now in some pit ,
or in some other place :
and it will come to pass ,
when some of them be overthrown at the first ,
that whosoever heareth it will say ,
There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom .
*
And he also that is valiant ,
whose heart is as the heart of a lion ,
shall utterly melt :
for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man ,
and they which be with him are valiant men .
*
Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee ,
from Dan even to Beersheba ,
as the sand that is by the sea for multitude ;
and that thou go to battle in thine own person .
*
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found ,
and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground :
and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one .
*
Moreover ,
if he be gotten into a city ,
then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city ,
and we will draw it into the river ,
until there be not one small stone found there .
*
And Absalom and all the men of Israel said ,
The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel .
For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel ,
to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom .
*
Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests ,
Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel ;
and thus and thus have I counselled .
*
Now therefore send quickly ,
and tell David ,
saying ,
Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness ,
but speedily pass over ;
lest the king be swallowed up ,
and all the people that are with him .
*
Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel ;
for they might not be seen to come into the city :
and a wench went and told them ;
and they went and told king David .
*
Nevertheless a lad saw them ,
and told Absalom :
but they went both of them away quickly ,
and came to a man '
s house in Bahurim ,
which had a well in his court ;
whither they went down .
*
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well '
s mouth ,
and spread ground corn thereon ;
and the thing was not known .
*
And when Absalom '
s servants came to the woman to the house ,
they said ,
Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan ?
And the woman said unto them ,
They be gone over the brook of water .
And when they had sought and could not find them ,
they returned to Jerusalem .
*
And it came to pass ,
after they were departed ,
that they came up out of the well ,
and went and told king David ,
and said unto David ,
Arise ,
and pass quickly over the water :
for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you .
*
Then David arose ,
and all the people that were with him ,
and they passed over Jordan :
by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan .
*
And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed ,
he saddled his ass ,
and arose ,
and gat him home to his house ,
to his city ,
and put his household in order ,
and hanged himself ,
and died ,
and was buried in the sepulchre of his father .
*
Then David came to Mahanaim .
And Absalom passed over Jordan ,
he and all the men of Israel with him .
*
And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab :
which Amasa was a man '
s son ,
whose name was Ithra an Israelite ,
that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash ,
sister to Zeruiah Joab '
s mother .
*
So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead .
*
And it came to pass ,
when David was come to Mahanaim ,
that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon ,
and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar ,
and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim ,
*
Brought beds ,
and basons ,
and earthen vessels ,
and wheat ,
and barley ,
and flour ,
and parched corn ,
and beans ,
and lentiles ,
and parched pulse ,
*
And honey ,
and butter ,
and sheep ,
and cheese of kine ,
for David ,
and for the people that were with him ,
to eat :
for they said ,
The people is hungry ,
and weary ,
and thirsty ,
in the wilderness .
*
And David numbered the people that were with him ,
and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them .
*
And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab ,
and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah ,
Joab '
s brother ,
and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite .
And the king said unto the people ,
I will surely go forth with you myself also .
*
But the people answered ,
Thou shalt not go forth :
for if we flee away ,
they will not care for us ;
neither if half of us die ,
will they care for us :
but now thou art worth ten thousand of us :
therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city .
*
And the king said unto them ,
What seemeth you best I will do .
And the king stood by the gate side ,
and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands .
*
And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai ,
saying ,
Deal gently for my sake with the young man ,
even with Absalom .
And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom .
*
So the people went out into the field against Israel :
and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim ;
*
Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David ,
and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men .
*
For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country :
and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured .
*
And Absalom met the servants of David .
And Absalom rode upon a mule ,
and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak ,
and his head caught hold of the oak ,
and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth ;
and the mule that was under him went away .
*
And a certain man saw it ,
and told Joab ,
and said ,
Behold ,
I saw Absalom hanged in an oak .
*
And Joab said unto the man that told him ,
And ,
behold ,
thou sawest him ,
and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground ?
and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver ,
and a girdle .
*
And the man said unto Joab ,
Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand ,
yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king '
s son :
for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai ,
saying ,
Beware that none touch the young man Absalom .
*
Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life :
for there is no matter hid from the king ,
and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me .
*
Then said Joab ,
I may not tarry thus with thee .
And he took three darts in his hand ,
and thrust them through the heart of Absalom ,
while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak .
*
And ten young men that bare Joab '
s armour compassed about and smote Absalom ,
and slew him .
*
And Joab blew the trumpet ,
and the people returned from pursuing after Israel :
for Joab held back the people .
*
And they took Absalom ,
and cast him into a great pit in the wood ,
and laid a very great heap of stones upon him :
and all Israel fled every one to his tent .
*
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar ,
which is in the king '
s dale :
for he said ,
I have no son to keep my name in remembrance :
and he called the pillar after his own name :
and it is called unto this day ,
Absalom '
s place .
*
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok ,
Let me now run ,
and bear the king tidings ,
how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies .
*
And Joab said unto him ,
Thou shalt not bear tidings this day ,
but thou shalt bear tidings another day :
but this day thou shalt bear no tidings ,
because the king '
s son is dead .
*
Then said Joab to Cushi ,
Go tell the king what thou hast seen .
And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab ,
and ran .
*
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab ,
But howsoever ,
let me ,
I pray thee ,
also run after Cushi .
And Joab said ,
Wherefore wilt thou run ,
my son ,
seeing that thou hast no tidings ready ?
*
But howsoever ,
said he ,
let me run .
And he said unto him ,
Run .
Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain ,
and overran Cushi .
*
And David sat between the two gates :
and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall ,
and lifted up his eyes ,
and looked ,
and behold a man running alone .
*
And the watchman cried ,
and told the king .
And the king said ,
If he be alone ,
there is tidings in his mouth .
And he came apace ,
and drew near .
*
And the watchman saw another man running :
and the watchman called unto the porter ,
and said ,
Behold another man running alone .
And the king said ,
He also bringeth tidings .
*
And the watchman said ,
Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok .
And the king said ,
He is a good man ,
and cometh with good tidings .
*
And Ahimaaz called ,
and said unto the king ,
All is well .
And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king ,
and said ,
Blessed be the LORD thy God ,
which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king .
*
And the king said ,
Is the young man Absalom safe ?
And Ahimaaz answered ,
When Joab sent the king '
s servant ,
and me thy servant ,
I saw a great tumult ,
but I knew not what it was .
*
And the king said unto him ,
Turn aside ,
and stand here .
And he turned aside ,
and stood still .
*
And ,
behold ,
Cushi came ;
and Cushi said ,
Tidings ,
my lord the king :
for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee .
*
And the king said unto Cushi ,
Is the young man Absalom safe ?
And Cushi answered ,
The enemies of my lord the king ,
and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt ,
be as that young man is .
*
And the king was much moved ,
and went up to the chamber over the gate ,
and wept :
and as he went ,
thus he said ,
O my son Absalom ,
my son ,
my son Absalom !
would God I had died for thee ,
O Absalom ,
my son ,
my son !
*
And it was told Joab ,
Behold ,
the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom .
*
And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people :
for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son .
*
And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city ,
as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle .
*
But the king covered his face ,
and the king cried with a loud voice ,
O my son Absalom ,
O Absalom ,
my son ,
my son !
*
And Joab came into the house to the king ,
and said ,
Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants ,
which this day have saved thy life ,
and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters ,
and the lives of thy wives ,
and the lives of thy concubines ;
*
In that thou lovest thine enemies ,
and hatest thy friends .
For thou hast declared this day ,
that thou regardest neither princes nor servants :
for this day I perceive ,
that if Absalom had lived ,
and all we had died this day ,
then it had pleased thee well .
*
Now therefore arise ,
go forth ,
and speak comfortably unto thy servants :
for I swear by the LORD ,
if thou go not forth ,
there will not tarry one with thee this night :
and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now .
*
Then the king arose ,
and sat in the gate .
And they told unto all the people ,
saying ,
Behold ,
the king doth sit in the gate .
And all the people came before the king :
for Israel had fled every man to his tent .
*
And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel ,
saying ,
The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies ,
and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines ;
and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom .
*
And Absalom ,
whom we anointed over us ,
is dead in battle .
Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back ?
*
And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests ,
saying ,
Speak unto the elders of Judah ,
saying ,
Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house ?
seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king ,
even to his house .
*
Ye are my brethren ,
ye are my bones and my flesh :
wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king ?
*
And say ye to Amasa ,
Art thou not of my bone ,
and of my flesh ?
God do so to me ,
and more also ,
if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab .
*
And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah ,
even as the heart of one man ;
so that they sent this word unto the king ,
Return thou ,
and all thy servants .
*
So the king returned ,
and came to Jordan .
And Judah came to Gilgal ,
to go to meet the king ,
to conduct the king over Jordan .
*
And Shimei the son of Gera ,
a Benjamite ,
which was of Bahurim ,
hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David .
*
And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him ,
and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul ,
and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him ;
and they went over Jordan before the king .
*
And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king '
s household ,
and to do what he thought good .
And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king ,
as he was come over Jordan ;
*
And said unto the king ,
Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me ,
neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem ,
that the king should take it to his heart .
*
For thy servant doth know that I have sinned :
therefore ,
behold ,
I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king .
*
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said ,
Shall not Shimei be put to death for this ,
because he cursed the LORD '
S anointed ?
*
And David said ,
What have I to do with you ,
ye sons of Zeruiah ,
that ye should this day be adversaries unto me ?
shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel ?
for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel ?
*
Therefore the king said unto Shimei ,
Thou shalt not die .
And the king sware unto him .
*
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king ,
and had neither dressed his feet ,
nor trimmed his beard ,
nor washed his clothes ,
from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace .
*
And it came to pass ,
when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king ,
that the king said unto him ,
Wherefore wentest not thou with me ,
Mephibosheth ?
*
And he answered ,
My lord ,
O king ,
my servant deceived me :
for thy servant said ,
I will saddle me an ass ,
that I may ride thereon ,
and go to the king ;
because thy servant is lame .
*
And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king ;
but my lord the king is as an angel of God :
do therefore what is good in thine eyes .
*
For all of my father '
s house were but dead men before my lord the king :
yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table .
What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king ?
*
And the king said unto him ,
Why speakest thou any more of thy matters ?
I have said ,
Thou and Ziba divide the land .
*
And Mephibosheth said unto the king ,
Yea ,
let him take all ,
forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house .
*
And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim ,
and went over Jordan with the king ,
to conduct him over Jordan .
*
Now Barzillai was a very aged man ,
even fourscore years old :
and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim ;
for he was a very great man .
*
And the king said unto Barzillai ,
Come thou over with me ,
and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem .
*
And Barzillai said unto the king ,
How long have I to live ,
that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem ?
*
I am this day fourscore years old :
and can I discern between good and evil ?
can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink ?
can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women ?
wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king ?
*
Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king :
and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward ?
*
Let thy servant ,
I pray thee ,
turn back again ,
that I may die in mine own city ,
and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother .
But behold thy servant Chimham ;
let him go over with my lord the king ;
and do to him what shall seem good unto thee .
*
And the king answered ,
Chimham shall go over with me ,
and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee :
and whatsoever thou shalt require of me ,
that will I do for thee .
*
And all the people went over Jordan .
And when the king was come over ,
the king kissed Barzillai ,
and blessed him ;
and he returned unto his own place .
*
Then the king went on to Gilgal ,
and Chimham went on with him :
and all the people of Judah conducted the king ,
and also half the people of Israel .
*
And ,
behold ,
all the men of Israel came to the king ,
and said unto the king ,
Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away ,
and have brought the king ,
and his household ,
and all David '
s men with him ,
over Jordan ?
*
And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel ,
Because the king is near of kin to us :
wherefore then be ye angry for this matter ?
have we eaten at all of the king '
s cost ?
or hath he given us any gift ?
*
And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah ,
and said ,
We have ten parts in the king ,
and we have also more right in David than ye :
why then did ye despise us ,
that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king ?
And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel .
*
And there happened to be there a man of Belial ,
whose name was Sheba ,
the son of Bichri ,
a Benjamite :
and he blew a trumpet ,
and said ,
We have no part in David ,
neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse :
every man to his tents ,
O Israel .
*
So every man of Israel went up from after David ,
and followed Sheba the son of Bichri :
but the men of Judah clave unto their king ,
from Jordan even to Jerusalem .
*
And David came to his house at Jerusalem ;
and the king took the ten women his concubines ,
whom he had left to keep the house ,
and put them in ward ,
and fed them ,
but went not in unto them .
So they were shut up unto the day of their death ,
living in widowhood .
*
Then said the king to Amasa ,
Assemble me the men of Judah within three days ,
and be thou here present .
*
So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah :
but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him .
*
And David said to Abishai ,
Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom :
take thou thy lord '
s servants ,
and pursue after him ,
lest he get him fenced cities ,
and escape us .
*
And there went out after him Joab '
s men ,
and the Cherethites ,
and the Pelethites ,
and all the mighty men :
and they went out of Jerusalem ,
to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri .
*
When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon ,
Amasa went before them .
And Joab '
s garment that he had put on was girded unto him ,
and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof ;
and as he went forth it fell out .
*
And Joab said to Amasa ,
Art thou in health ,
my brother ?
And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him .
*
But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab '
s hand :
so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib ,
and shed out his bowels to the ground ,
and struck him not again ;
and he died .
So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri .
*
And one of Joab '
s men stood by him ,
and said ,
He that favoureth Joab ,
and he that is for David ,
let him go after Joab .
*
And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway .
And when the man saw that all the people stood still ,
he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field ,
and cast a cloth upon him ,
when he saw that every one that came by him stood still .
*
When he was removed out of the highway ,
all the people went on after Joab ,
to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri .
*
And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel ,
and to Bethmaachah ,
and all the Berites :
and they were gathered together ,
and went also after him .
*
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah ,
and they cast up a bank against the city ,
and it stood in the trench :
and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall ,
to throw it down .
*
Then cried a wise woman out of the city ,
Hear ,
hear ;
say ,
I pray you ,
unto Joab ,
Come near hither ,
that I may speak with thee .
*
And when he was come near unto her ,
the woman said ,
Art thou Joab ?
And he answered ,
I am he .
Then she said unto him ,
Hear the words of thine handmaid .
And he answered ,
I do hear .
*
Then she spake ,
saying ,
They were wont to speak in old time ,
saying ,
They shall surely ask counsel at Abel :
and so they ended the matter .
*
I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel :
thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel :
why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD ?
*
And Joab answered and said ,
Far be it ,
far be it from me ,
that I should swallow up or destroy .
*
The matter is not so :
but a man of mount Ephraim ,
Sheba the son of Bichri by name ,
hath lifted up his hand against the king ,
even against David :
deliver him only ,
and I will depart from the city .
And the woman said unto Joab ,
Behold ,
his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall .
*
Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom .
And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri ,
and cast it out to Joab .
And he blew a trumpet ,
and they retired from the city ,
every man to his tent .
And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king .
*
Now Joab was over all the host of Israel :
and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites :
*
And Adoram was over the tribute :
and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder :
*
And Sheva was scribe :
and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests :
*
And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David .
*
Then there was a famine in the days of David three years ,
year after year ;
and David enquired of the LORD .
And the LORD answered ,
It is for Saul ,
and for his bloody house ,
because he slew the Gibeonites .
*
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 to the children of Israel and Judah .)
*
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites ,
What shall I do for you ?
and wherewith shall I make the atonement ,
that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD ?
*
And the Gibeonites said unto him ,
We will have no silver nor gold of Saul ,
nor of his house ;
neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel .
And he said ,
What ye shall say ,
that will I do for you .
*
And they answered the king ,
The man that consumed us ,
and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel ,
*
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us ,
and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul ,
whom the LORD did choose .
And the king said ,
I will give them .
*
But the king spared Mephibosheth ,
the son of Jonathan the son of Saul ,
because of the LORD '
S oath that was between them ,
between David and Jonathan the son of Saul .
*
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 brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite :
*
And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites ,
and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD :
and they fell all seven together ,
and were put to death in the days of harvest ,
in the first days ,
in the beginning of barley harvest .
*
And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth ,
and spread it for her upon the rock ,
from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven ,
and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day ,
nor the beasts of the field by night .
*
And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah ,
the concubine of Saul ,
had done .
*
And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead ,
which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan ,
where the Philistines had hanged them ,
when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa :
*
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 .
*
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah ,
in the sepulchre of Kish his father :
and they performed all that the king commanded .
And after that God was intreated for the land .
*
Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel ;
and David went down ,
and his servants with him ,
and fought against the Philistines :
and David waxed faint .
*
And Ishbibenob ,
which was of the sons of the giant ,
the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight ,
he being girded with a new sword ,
thought to have slain David .
*
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured 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 light of Israel .
*
And it came to pass after this ,
that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob :
then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph ,
which was of the sons of the giant .
*
And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines ,
where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim ,
a Bethlehemite ,
slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite ,
the staff of whose spear was like a weaver '
s beam .
*
And there was yet a battle in 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 .
*
And when he defied Israel ,
Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him .
*
These four were born to the giant in Gath ,
and fell by the hand of David ,
and by the hand of his servants .
*
And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies ,
and out of the hand of Saul :
*
And he said ,
The LORD is my rock ,
and my fortress ,
and my deliverer ;
*
The God of my rock ;
in him will I trust :
he is my shield ,
and the horn of my salvation ,
my high tower ,
and my refuge ,
my saviour ;
thou savest me from violence .
*
I will call on the LORD ,
who is worthy to be praised :
so shall I be saved from mine enemies .
*
When the waves of death compassed me ,
the floods of ungodly men made me afraid ;
*
The sorrows of hell compassed me about ;
the snares of death prevented me ;
*
In my distress I called upon the LORD ,
and cried to my God :
and he did hear my voice out of his temple ,
and my cry did enter into his ears .
*
Then the earth shook and trembled ;
the foundations of heaven moved and shook ,
because he was wroth .
*
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils ,
and fire out of his mouth devoured :
coals were kindled by it .
*
He bowed the heavens also ,
and came down ;
and darkness was under his feet .
*
And he rode upon a cherub ,
and did fly :
and he was seen upon the wings of the wind .
*
And he made darkness pavilions round about him ,
dark waters ,
and thick clouds of the skies .
*
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled .
*
The LORD thundered from heaven ,
and the most High uttered his voice .
*
And he sent out arrows ,
and scattered them ;
lightning ,
and discomfited them .
*
And the channels of the sea appeared ,
the foundations of the world were discovered ,
at the rebuking of the LORD ,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils .
*
He sent from above ,
he took me ;
he drew me out of many waters ;
*
He delivered me from my strong enemy ,
and from them that hated me :
for they were too strong for me .
*
They prevented me in the day of my calamity :
but the LORD was my stay .
*
He brought me forth also into a large place :
he delivered me ,
because he delighted in me .
*
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness :
according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me .
*
For I have kept the ways of the LORD ,
and have not wickedly departed from my God .
*
For all his judgments were before me :
and as for his statutes ,
I did not depart from them .
*
I was also upright before him ,
and have kept myself from mine iniquity .
*
Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness ;
according to my cleanness in his eye sight .
*
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful ,
and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright .
*
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ;
and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury .
*
And the afflicted people thou wilt save :
but thine eyes are upon the haughty ,
that thou mayest bring them down .
*
For thou art my lamp ,
O LORD :
and the LORD will lighten my darkness .
*
For by thee I have run through a troop :
by my God have I leaped over a wall .
*
As for God ,
his way is perfect ;
the word of the LORD is tried :
he is a buckler to all them that trust in him .
*
For who is God ,
save the LORD ?
and who is a rock ,
save our God ?
*
God is my strength and power :
and he maketh my way perfect .
*
He maketh my feet like hinds '
feet :
and setteth me upon my high places .
*
He teacheth my hands to war ;
so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms .
*
Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation :
and thy gentleness hath made me great .
*
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me ;
so that my feet did not slip .
*
I have pursued mine enemies ,
and destroyed them ;
and turned not again until I had consumed them .
*
And I have consumed them ,
and wounded them ,
that they could not arise :
yea ,
they are fallen under my feet .
*
For thou hast girded me with strength to battle :
them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me .
*
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies ,
that I might destroy them that hate me .
*
They looked ,
but there was none to save ;
even unto the LORD ,
but he answered them not .
*
Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth ,
I did stamp them as the mire of the street ,
and did spread them abroad .
*
Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people ,
thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen :
a people which I knew not shall serve me .
*
Strangers shall submit themselves unto me :
as soon as they hear ,
they shall be obedient unto me .
*
Strangers shall fade away ,
and they shall be afraid out of their close places .
*
The LORD liveth ;
and blessed be my rock ;
and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation .
*
It is God that avengeth me ,
and that bringeth down the people under me ,
*
And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies :
thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me :
thou hast delivered me from the violent man .
*
Therefore I will give thanks unto thee ,
O LORD ,
among the heathen ,
and I will sing praises unto thy name .
*
He is the tower of salvation for his king :
and sheweth mercy to his anointed ,
unto David ,
and to his seed for evermore .
*
Now these be the last words of David .
David the son of Jesse said ,
and the man who was raised up on high ,
the anointed of the God of Jacob ,
and the sweet psalmist of Israel ,
said ,
*
The Spirit of the LORD spake by me ,
and his word was in my tongue .
*
The God of Israel said ,
the Rock of Israel spake to me ,
He that ruleth over men must be just ,
ruling in the fear of God .
*
And he shall be as the light of the morning ,
when the sun riseth ,
even a morning without clouds ;
as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain .
*
Although my house be not so with God ;
yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant ,
ordered in all things ,
and sure :
for this is all my salvation ,
and all my desire ,
although he make it not to grow .
*
But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away ,
because they cannot be taken with hands :
*
But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear ;
and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place .
*
These be the names of the mighty men whom David had :
The Tachmonite that sat in the seat ,
chief among the captains ;
the same was Adino the Eznite :
he lift up his spear against eight hundred ,
whom he slew at one time .
*
And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the 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 :
*
He arose ,
and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary ,
and his hand clave unto the sword :
and the LORD wrought a great victory that day ;
and the people returned after him only to spoil .
*
And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite .
And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop ,
where was a piece of ground full of lentiles :
and the people fled from the Philistines .
*
But he stood in the midst of the ground ,
and defended it ,
and slew the Philistines :
and the LORD wrought a great victory .
*
And three of the thirty chief went down ,
and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam :
and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim .
*
And David was then in an hold ,
and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem .
*
And David longed ,
and said ,
Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem ,
which is by the gate !
*
And the three mighty men brake through the host 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 :
nevertheless he would not drink thereof ,
but poured it out unto the LORD .
*
And he said ,
Be it far from me ,
O LORD ,
that I should do this :
is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives ?
therefore he would not drink it .
These things did these three mighty men .
*
And Abishai ,
the brother of Joab ,
the son of Zeruiah ,
was chief among three .
And he lifted up his spear against three hundred ,
and slew them ,
and had the name among three .
*
Was he not most honourable of three ?
therefore he was their captain :
howbeit he attained not unto the first three .
*
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ,
the son of a valiant man ,
of Kabzeel ,
who had done many acts ,
he slew two lionlike men of Moab :
he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow :
*
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 .
*
These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ,
and had the name among three mighty men .
*
He was more honourable than the thirty ,
but he attained not to the first three .
And David set him over his guard .
*
Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty ;
Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem ,
*
Shammah the Harodite ,
Elika the Harodite ,
*
Helez the Paltite ,
Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite ,
*
Abiezer the Anethothite ,
Mebunnai the Hushathite ,
*
Zalmon the Ahohite ,
Maharai the Netophathite ,
*
Heleb the son of Baanah ,
a Netophathite ,
Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin ,
*
Benaiah the Pirathonite ,
Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash ,
*
Abialbon the Arbathite ,
Azmaveth the Barhumite ,
*
Eliahba the Shaalbonite ,
of the sons of Jashen ,
Jonathan ,
*
Shammah the Hararite ,
Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite ,
*
Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai ,
the son of the Maachathite ,
Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite ,
*
Hezrai the Carmelite ,
Paarai the Arbite ,
*
Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah ,
Bani the Gadite ,
*
Zelek the Ammonite ,
Naharai the Beerothite ,
armourbearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah ,
*
Ira an Ithrite ,
Gareb an Ithrite ,
*
Uriah the Hittite :
thirty and seven in all .
*
And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel ,
and he moved David against them to say ,
Go ,
number Israel and Judah .
*
For the king said to Joab the captain of the host ,
which was with him ,
Go now through all the tribes of Israel ,
from Dan even to Beersheba ,
and number ye the people ,
that I may know the number of the people .
*
And Joab said unto the king ,
Now the LORD thy God add unto the people ,
how many soever they be ,
an hundredfold ,
and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it :
but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing ?
*
Notwithstanding the king '
s word prevailed against Joab ,
and against the captains of the host .
And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king ,
to number the people of Israel .
*
And they passed over Jordan ,
and pitched in Aroer ,
on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad ,
and toward Jazer :
*
Then they came to Gilead ,
and to the land of Tahtimhodshi ;
and they came to Danjaan ,
and about to Zidon ,
*
And came to the strong hold of Tyre ,
and to all the cities of the Hivites ,
and of the Canaanites :
and they went out to the south of Judah ,
even to Beersheba .
*
So when they had gone through all the land ,
they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days .
*
And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king :
and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword ;
and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men .
*
And David '
s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people .
And David said unto the LORD ,
I have sinned greatly in that I have done :
and now ,
I beseech thee ,
O LORD ,
take away the iniquity of thy servant ;
for I have done very foolishly .
*
For when David was up in the morning ,
the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad ,
David '
s seer ,
saying ,
*
Go and say unto David ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
I offer thee three things ;
choose thee one of them ,
that I may do it unto thee .
*
So Gad came to David ,
and told him ,
and said unto him ,
Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land ?
or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies ,
while they pursue thee ?
or that there be three days '
pestilence in thy land ?
now advise ,
and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me .
*
And David said unto Gad ,
I am in a great strait :
let us fall now into the hand of the LORD ;
for his mercies are great :
and let me not fall into the hand of man .
*
So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed :
and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men .
*
And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it ,
the LORD repented him of the evil ,
and said to the angel that destroyed the people ,
It is enough :
stay now thine hand .
And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite .
*
And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people ,
and said ,
Lo ,
I have sinned ,
and I have done wickedly :
but these sheep ,
what have they done ?
let thine hand ,
I pray thee ,
be against me ,
and against my father '
s house .
*
And Gad came that day to David ,
and said unto him ,
Go up ,
rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite .
*
And David ,
according to the saying of Gad ,
went up as the LORD commanded .
*
And Araunah looked ,
and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him :
and Araunah went out ,
and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground .
*
And Araunah said ,
Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant ?
And David said ,
To buy the threshingfloor of thee ,
to build an altar unto the LORD ,
that the plague may be stayed from the people .
*
And Araunah said unto David ,
Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him :
behold ,
here be oxen for burnt sacrifice ,
and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood .
*
All these things did Araunah ,
as a king ,
give unto the king .
And Araunah said unto the king ,
The LORD thy God accept thee .
*
And the king said unto Araunah ,
Nay ;
but I will surely buy it of thee at a price :
neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing .
So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver .
*
And David built there an altar unto the LORD ,
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings .
So the LORD was intreated for the land ,
and the plague was stayed from Israel .
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