2Samuel:23-24

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* And these are the last words of David . Thus saith David the son of Jesse , and thus saith the man who was raised up on high , the anointed of the God of Jacob , and the sweet singer of Israel : * The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me , and his word was upon my tongue . * said the God of Israel , concerning me spoke the Rock of Israel , That ruler over men , be righteous , ruling in the fear of God ; * And as in the light of morning the sun riseth , in a morning without clouds , with more than the brightness by rain on the herbs that spring from the earth . * Truly is not so my house with God ? since he hath made with me an everlasting covenant , firm in all , and sure ? yea , will he not cause to grow all my salvation , and all my desire ? * But the godless are all of them as waving thorns , which cannot be taken in the hand ; * But the man that will touch them must protect his hand with iron and the staff of a spear : and they will be utterly burnt with fire in the dwelling . * These are the names of the mighty men whom David had : Yosheb –bashebeth , the Thachkemonite , the chief among the captains ,––the same as ‘Adino the ‘Eznite ,––because of eight hundred slain at one time . * And after him was El ’azar the son of Dodo , the son of Achochi , 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with David , when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle , and the men of Israel had withdrawn themselves ; * He then arose , and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary , and his hand did cleave unto the sword : and the Lord wrought a great victory on that day ; and the people returned after him only to strip . * And after him was Shammah the son of Age the Hararite . The Philistines were gathered together into a troop , and there was a piece of ground full of lentiles ; and the people had fled from the Philistines ; * But he placed himself in the midst of the ground , and delivered it , and smote the Philistines : and the Lord wrought a great victory . * And these three , the chiefs of the thirty , went down , and came to David at harvest –time unto the cave of ‘Adullam : and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim . * And David was then in the strong –hold , and an outpost of the Philistines was then in Beth –lechem . * And David longed , and said , Oh that one would bring me water to drink out of the well at Beth –lechem , which is by the gate ! * And the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines ; and drew water out of the well of Beth –lechem , that was by the gate , and took it , and brought it to David ; but he would not drink thereof , and poured it out unto the Lord . * And he said , Far be it from me , O Lord , that I should do this : the blood of the men that went at the risk of their life ? and thus he would not drink it . These things did the three mighty men . * And Abishai , the brother of Joab , the son of Zeruyah , was the chief of these three ; and he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain , and had a name among the three . * Although he was the most honored of the three , wherefore he became their captain : he nevertheless attained not unto the three . * And Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ’, the son of a valiant man , great in many acts of Kabzeel ; he it was that smote the two lion –like heroes of Moab ; he also went down and slew a lion in the midst of a pit on a day when it snowed ; * And he slew an Egyptian , a man of good appearance ; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand ; but he went down to him with a staff , and he snatched the spear out of the Egyptian ’s hand , and slew him with his own spear . * These things did Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ’, and he had a name among the three mighty men . * He was more honored than the thirty ; but he attained not to these three . And David appointed him in his private council . * ‘Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty ; Elchanan the son of Dodo of Beth –lechem , * Shammah the Charodite , Elika the Charodite , * Chelez the Paltite , ‘Ira the son of ‘Ikkesh the Teko ’ite , * Abi ’ezer the ‘Anethothite , Mebunnai the Chushathite , * Zalmon the Achochite , Maharai the Netophathite , * Cheleb the son of Ba ’anah , the Netophathite , Ittai the son of Ribai of Gib ’ah of the children of Benjamin , * Benayahu the Pir ’athonite , Hiddai of Nachale –Ga ’ash , * Abi –’albon the ‘Arbathite , ‘Azmaveth the Barchumite , * Elyachba the Sha ’albonite , Bne –yashen , Jonathan , * Shammah the Hararite , Achiam the son of Sharar the Ararite , * Eliphelet the son of Achasbai , the son of the Ma ’achathite , Eli ’am the son of Achithophel the Gilonite , * Chezrai , the Carmelite , Pa ’arai the Arbite , * Yigal the son of Nathan of Zobah , Bani the Gadite , * Zelek the ‘Ammonite , Nacharai the Beerothite , the armor –bearer of Joab the son of Zeruyah , * ‘Ira the Yithrite , Gareb the Yithrite , * Uriyah the Hittite : in all thirty and seven . * And again was the anger of the Lord kindled against Israel , and he incited David against them to say , Go , number Israel and Judah . * And the king said to Joab the captain of the army , who was with him , Traverse , I pray thee , all the tribes of Israel , from Dan even to Beer –sheba ’, and number ye the people , that I may know the number of the people . * Then said Joab unto the king , Now may the Lord thy God add unto the people , how many soever they be , a hundred –fold more , and may the eyes of my Lord the king see it ; but why doth my Lord the king find delight in this thing ? * Nevertheless the king ’s word remained firm against Joab , and against the captains of the army : and Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king , to number the people of Israel . * And they passed over the Jordan , and encamped in ‘Aro ’er , on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the valley of Gad , and toward Ya ’zer : * Then they came to Gil ’ad , and to the land of Tachtimchodshi ; and they came to Dan –ya ’an , and about to Zidon ; * And they 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 , up to Beer –sheba ’. * And so they traversed all the land , and they came at the end of nine months and twenty days to Jerusalem . * 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 what I have done ; and now , I beseech thee , O Lord , cause the iniquity of thy servant to pass away ; for I have acted very foolishly . * And when David was arisen in the morning , The word of the Lord came unto Gad the prophet , David ’s seer , saying , * Go and speak unto David , Thus hath said the Lord , Three things do I offer thee : choose for thyself one of them , and I will do it unto thee . * So Gad came to David , and told it unto him ; and he said unto him , Shall there come unto thee seven years of famine in thy land ? or three months , that thou flee before thy enemies , while they pursue thee ? or that there be for three days a pestilence in thy land ? now consider and see what word I shall bring back to him that hath sent me . * And David said unto Gad , I am in a great strait : let us fall then into the hand of the Lord ,––for his mercies are great ; but let me not fall into the hand of man . * And the Lord sent a pestilence in Israel from the morning even to the time appointed : and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer –sheba ’ seventy thousand men . * And when the angel stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it , the Lord bethought himself of the evil , and said to the angel that destroyed among the people , It is enough : now stay thy hand . And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingfloor of Aravnah the Jebusite . * And David spoke unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote among the people , and said , Lo , I have indeed sinned , and I have truly done wickedly ; but these sheep , what have they done ? let thy hand , I pray thee , be against me , and against my father ’s house . * And Gad came to David on that day , and said unto him , Go up , erect an altar unto the Lord on the threshing –floor of Aravnah the Jebusite . * And David went up , according to the word of Gad , as the Lord had commanded . * And Aravnah looked up , and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him : and Aravnah went out , and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground . * And Aravnah said , Wherefore is my Lord the king come to his servant ? And David said , To buy from thee the threshingfloor , to build an altar unto the Lord , that the plague may be stayed from the people . * And Aravnah said unto David , Let my Lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good in his eyes : behold , the oxen are here for burnt –offerings , and the threshing rollers and the harness of the oxen for wood . * All these things did Aravnah , the king , give unto the king . And Aravnah said unto the king , May the Lord thy God receive thee favorably . * And the king said unto Aravnah , No ; but I will surely buy it from thee at the value ; for I will not offer burnt –offerings unto the Lord my God without paying therefor . So David bought the threshing –floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver . * And David built there an altar unto the Lord , and offered burnt –offerings and peace –offerings : and the Lord was entreated for the land , and the plague was stayed from Israel .

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