NAS - 2 Samuel Chapter 7 to 10

7 David Plans to Build a Temple

¹Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, ²that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains." ³Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your mind, for the LORD is with you."

⁴But in the same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, ⁵"Go and say to My servant David, `Thus says the LORD, "Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? ⁶"For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. ⁷"Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, `Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'"'

God's Covenant with David

⁸"Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. ⁹"I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. ¹⁰"I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, ¹¹even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. ¹²"When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³"He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴"I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, ¹⁵but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶"Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'" ¹⁷In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David's Prayer

¹⁸Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹"And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord GOD. ²⁰"Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD! ²¹"For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. ²²"For this reason You are great, O Lord GOD; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³"And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? ²⁴"For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God. ²⁵"Now therefore, O LORD God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have spoken, ²⁶that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, `The LORD of hosts is God over Israel'; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁷"For You, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, `I will build you a house'; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. ²⁸"Now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁹"Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever."

8 David's Triumphs

¹Now after this it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

²He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his rule at the River. ⁴David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots. ⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 Arameans. ⁶Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the LORD helped David wherever he went. ⁷David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸From Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

⁹Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze. ¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued: ¹²from Aram and Moab and the sons of Ammon and the Philistines and Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans in the Valley of Salt. ¹⁴He put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. ¹⁶Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder. ¹⁷Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary. ¹⁸Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief ministers.

9 David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

¹Then David said, "Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" ²Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." ³The king said, "Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet." ⁴So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar." ⁵Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. ⁶Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, "Mephibosheth." And he said, "Here is your servant!" ⁷David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." ⁸Again he prostrated himself and said, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?"

⁹Then the king called Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. ¹⁰"You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall eat at my table regularly." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. ¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king's table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.

10 Ammon and Aram Defeated

¹Now it happened afterwards that the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. ²Then David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent some of his servants to console him concerning his father. But when David's servants came to the land of the Ammonites, ³the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?" ⁴So Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. ⁵When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return."

⁶Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men. ⁷When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. ⁸The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him in front and in the rear, he selected from all the choice men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰But the remainder of the people he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the sons of Ammon. ¹¹He said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. ¹²"Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what is good in His sight." ¹³So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁴When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them. ¹⁷Now when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans arrayed themselves to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 700 charioteers of the Arameans and 40,000 horsemen and struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans feared to help the sons of Ammon anymore.