23

Sheba the son of Bichri, and 'threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed1 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 1Cherethites and over the Pelethites: and Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the (25 recorder: and Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were priests: and Ira also the Jairite was 51priest unto David.

211 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David 'sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death' the Gibeon?ites. 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 for the children of Israel and Judah :) (3 and David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of 4 the LORD? And the Gibeonites said unto him, "It is no matter of silver or gold 'between us and' Saul, for his house; neither is it for us Ito put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, 5 that will I do for you. And they Isaid unto the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us, "that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders' of 6 Israel, let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD. And the king said, I will 1 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 8 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 bare to Adriel the son of Bar9 zillai the Meholathite: and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before the LORD, and they fell all seven together: and they were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, 'at the 10 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 was poured upon them from heaven; and she suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the 11 field by night. And it was told Da

vid what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, 12 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 Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the 9street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, 'in the day that the Philistines 'slew Saul in 13 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 14) hanged. And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

(15

And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David 16 waxed faint. And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the 10giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, 17 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 lamp1 of Israel.

See 1 Chr. I

7 Or, Iso that we have been destroyed

8 In 1 Sam. xviii. 19, Merab.

Or, broad place! 10 Heb. Raphah. 11 Or, new larmour!

XXI. 1 Then..

18 1And it came to pass after this, that there was again war with the Philistines at 2Gob: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was (19) of the sons of the giant. And there was again war with the Philistines lat Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim 'thel Beth-lehemite slew "Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose 20 spear was like a weaver's beam. And there was again war at' 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 21 the giant. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei Da

22 vid's brother slew him.

These four

And thick darkness was under his feet.

And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:

Yea', he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

And he made darkness pavilions round about him,

'Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

13 At the brightness before him Coals of fire were kindled.

My saviour, thou savest me from violence.

(18

19

They came upon me in the day of my calamity:

But the LORD was my stay.

6) The cords of 10 Sheol were round!

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 judgements were before

me:

1 See 1 Chr. xx. 4-8.

2 In 1 Chr. xx. 4, Gezer.

3 In 1 Chr. xx. 4, Sippai. Heb. Raphah.

And sheweth lovingkindness' to his anointed,

'To David and to his seed, for

evermore.

23 (1 Now these be the last words of David.

2

3

(4

5

6

7

(8

David the son of Jesse 'saith',

And the man who was raised on high saith',

The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: The spirit of the LORD spake by

me,

And his word was 'upon' my tongue. The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spake to me:

One that ruleth over men "righteously,

That ruleth' in the fear of God, He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,

A morning without clouds; When the tender grass 'springeth' out of the earth,

Through clear shining after rain. Verily my house is not so with God;

Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,

Ordered in all things, and sure: For it is all my salvation, and all my desire,

Although he maketh it not to grow.

But the ungodly shall be all of them as thorns to be thrust away,

For they cannot be taken with 'the hand':

But the man that toucheth' them Must be armed' with iron and the

staff of a spear;

And they shall be utterly burned' with fire in their place.

8These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: Joshebi'basshebeth a Tahchemonite', chief lof the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite, against eight hundred 9 slain at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of 'Dodai the Ison of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they

defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the 10 men of Israel 10were 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 11 only to spoil. And after him was Shammah the son of Agee 'a' Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together 12into a troop, where was a 'plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Phi12 listines. But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD 13 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 were encamped in the valley of Rephaim. 14 And David was then in 'the hold, and the garrison of the Philistines 15) was then in Beth-lehem. And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate! 16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: 'but' he would not drink thereof, but poured 17 it out unto the LORD. And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of the men that went 18in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did 18 the three mighty men. And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred and slew them, and had 'a' 19 name among the three. Was he not most honourable of the three? therefore he was made their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first 20 three. "And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of 15a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he slew the two sons of

Ariel of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit 21 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 22 his own spear. These things did

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had lal name among the three mighty 23 men. He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

24

Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of 25 Dodo of Beth-lehem; Shammah the 26 Harodite, Elika the Harodite; Helez

the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the 21 Tekoite; Abiezer the 'Anathothite', 28 Mebunnai the Hushathite; °Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite; Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite; Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benja30 min; Benaiah la Pirathonite, Hid31 dai of the brooks of Gaash; °Abi-albon

the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhu(32 mite; Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the 33sons of Jashen, Jonathan; °Shammah

the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Araritel; Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilo35nite; Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai 36 the Arbite; Igal the son of Nathan 31 of Zobah, Bani the Gadite; Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armourbearers' to Joab the son of Zeruiah; Ira the Ithrite, Gareb 39 'thel Ithrite; Uriah the Hittite : thirty and seven in all.

241 And again the anger of the LORD

was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying', 2 Go, number Israel and Judah. And the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may (3) know the sum 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 may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why doth my lord the 4 king delight in this thing? Notwith

1 Or, council 2 Or, Hearai

standing 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 5 people of Israel. And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, 6 and 'unto Jazer: then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, 7 and round' 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 8 south of Judah, 'at' Beer-sheba.

:

So

when they had gone to and fro through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months 9 and twenty days. And Joab gave up the sum of the 'numbering 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.

10) 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 but now, O LORD, 'put' away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very fool11 ishly. And when David 'rose up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's 12 seer, saying, Go and speak unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of 13 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 Ithy foes while they pursue thee? or Ishall there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise thee', and Iconsider what answer I shall return 14 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 15 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 Beer16) sheba seventy thousand men. °And

5 Or, towardi • Or, lay upon

1 Or, many