2Samuel:23-24

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* Now these are the last words of David . Thus says David the son of Jesse ; Thus says the man raised up on high , The anointed of the God of Jacob , And the sweet psalmist of Israel : * "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me , And His word was on my tongue . * The God of Israel said , The Rock of Israel spoke to me : "He who rules over men must be just , Ruling in the fear of God . * And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises , A morning without clouds , Like the tender grass springing out of the earth , By clear shining after rain .' * "Although my house is not so with God , Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant , Ordered in all things and secure . For this is all my salvation and all my desire ; Will He not make it increase ? * But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away , Because they cannot be taken with hands . * But the man who touches them Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear , And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place ." * These are the names of the mighty men whom David had : Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite , chief among the captains . He was called Adino the Eznite , because he had killed eight hundred men 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 who were gathered there for battle , and the men of Israel had retreated . * He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary , and his hand stuck to the sword . The LORD brought about a great victory that day ; and the people returned after him only to plunder . * And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite . The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils . So the people fled from the Philistines . * But he stationed himself in the middle of the field , defended it , and killed the Philistines . So the LORD brought about a great victory . * Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam . And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim . * David was then in the stronghold , and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem . * And David said with longing , "Oh , that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem , which is by the gate !" * So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines , drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate , and took it and brought it to David . Nevertheless he would not drink it , but poured it out to the LORD . * And he said , "Far be it from me , O LORD , that I should do this ! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives ?" Therefore he would not drink it . These things were done by the three mighty men . * Now Abishai the brother of Joab , the son of Zeruiah , was chief of another three . He lifted his spear against three hundred men , killed them , and won a name among these three . * Was he not the most honored of three ? Therefore he became their captain . However , he did not attain to the first three . * Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada , the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel , who had done many deeds . He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab . He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day . * And he killed an Egyptian , a spectacular man . The Egyptian had a spear in his hand ; so he went down to him with a staff , wrested the spear out of the Egyptian 's hand , and killed him with his own spear . * These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did , and won a name among three mighty men . * He was more honored than the thirty , but he did not attain to the first three . And David appointed 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 Anathothite , Mebunnai the Hushathite , * Zalmon the Ahohite , Maharai the Netophathite , * Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite ), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin , * Benaiah a Pirathonite , Hiddai from the brooks of Gaash , * Abi-Albon 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 (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah ), * Ira the Ithrite , Gareb the Ithrite , * and Uriah the Hittite : thirty-seven in all . * Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel , and He moved David against them to say , "Go , number Israel and Judah ." * So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him , "Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel , from Dan to Beersheba , and count the people , that I may know the number of the people ." * And Joab said to the king , "Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are , and may the eyes of my lord the king see it . But why does my lord the king desire this thing ?" * Nevertheless the king 's word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army . Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel . * And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer , on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad , and toward Jazer . * Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi ; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon ; * and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites . Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba . * So when they had gone through all the land , they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days . * Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king . And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword , and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men . * And David 's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people . So David said to the LORD , "I have sinned greatly in what I have done ; but now , I pray , O LORD , take away the iniquity of Your servant , for I have done very foolishly ." * Now when David arose in the morning , the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad , David 's seer , saying , * "Go and tell David , "Thus says the LORD : "I offer you three things ; choose one of them for yourself , that I may do it to you .""' * So Gad came to David and told him ; and he said to him , "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land ? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies , while they pursue you ? Or shall there be three days ' plague in your land ? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me ." * And David said to Gad , "I am in great distress . Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD , for His mercies are great ; but do not let me fall into the hand of man ." * So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time . From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died . * And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it , the LORD relented from the destruction , and said to the angel who was destroying the people , "It is enough ; now restrain your hand ." And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite . * Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people , and said , "Surely I have sinned , and I have done wickedly ; but these sheep , what have they done ? Let Your hand , I pray , be against me and against my father 's house ." * And Gad came that day to David and said to him , "Go up , erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite ." * So David , according to the word of Gad , went up as the LORD commanded . * Now Araunah looked , and saw the king and his servants coming toward him . So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground . * Then Araunah said , "Why has my lord the king come to his servant ?" And David said , "To buy the threshing floor from you , to build an altar to the LORD , that the plague may be withdrawn from the people ." * Now Araunah said to David , "Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him . Look , here are oxen for burnt sacrifice , and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood . * All these , O king , Araunah has given to the king ." And Araunah said to the king , "May the LORD your God accept you ." * Then the king said to Araunah , "No , but I will surely buy it from you for a price ; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing ." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver . * And David built there an altar to the LORD , and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings . So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land , and the plague was withdrawn from Israel .

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