The Quest for Life Network

2 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
19:1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for
 Absalom.
19:2 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.
19:3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people
 being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
19:4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O
 my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
19:5 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;
19:6 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.
19:7 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.
19:8 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.
19:9 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.
19:10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle.  Now
 therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
19:11 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.
19:12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh:  wherefore then
 are ye the last to bring back the king?
19:13 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.
19:14 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.
19:15 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.
19:16 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.
19:17 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.
19:18 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;
19:19 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.
19:20 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.
19:21 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?
19:22 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?
19:23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die.  And the king
 sware unto him.
19:24 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.
19:25 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?
19:26 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.
19:27 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.
19:28 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?
19:29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters?
  I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.
19:30 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.
19:31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over
 Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.
19:32 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.
19:33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will
 feed thee with me in Jerusalem.
19:34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I
 should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
19:35 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?
19:36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king:  and why
 should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
19:37 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.
19:38 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.
19:39 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.
19:40 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.
19:41 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?
19:42 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?
19:43 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.

2 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
20:1 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.
20:2 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.
20:3 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.
20:4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three
 days, and be thou here present.
20:5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah:  but he tarried longer
 than the set time which he had appointed him.
20:6 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.
20:7 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.
20:8 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.
20:9 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.
20:10 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.
20:11 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.
20:12 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.
20:13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after
 Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
20:14 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.
20:15 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.
20:16 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.
20:17 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.
20:18 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.
20:19 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?
20:20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I
 should swallow up or destroy.
20:21 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.
20:22 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.
20:23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel:  and Benaiah the son of
 Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
20:24 And Adoram was over the tribute:  and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud
 was recorder:
20:25 And Sheva was scribe:  and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
20:26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.

2 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after
 year; and David inquired of the LORD.  And the LORD answered, It is for
 Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
21:2 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. )
21:3 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?
21:4 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.
21:5 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,
21:6 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.
21:7 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.
21:8 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:
21:9 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.
21:10 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.
21:11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine
 of Saul, had done.
21:12 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:
21:13 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.
21:14 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 entreated
 for the land.
21:15 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.
21:16 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.
21:17 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.
21:18 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.
21:19 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.
21:20 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.
21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of
 David slew him.
21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of
 David, and by the hand of his servants.

2 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
22:1 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:
22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
22:3 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.
22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised:  so shall I be
 saved from mine enemies.
22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me
 afraid;
22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented
 me;
22:7 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.
22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and
 shook, because he was wroth.
22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth
 devoured:  coals were kindled by it.
22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his
 feet.
22:11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:  and he was seen upon the
 wings of the wind.
22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and
 thick clouds of the skies.
22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited
 them.
22:16 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.
22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: 
 for they were too strong for me.
22:19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity:  but the LORD was my
 stay.
22:20 He brought me forth also into a large place:  he delivered me, because
 he delighted in me.
22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness:  according to the
 cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed
 from my God.
22:23 For all his judgments were before me:  and as for his statutes, I
 did not depart from them.
22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine
 iniquity.
22:25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness;
 according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
22:26 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful, and with the
 upright man thou wilt show thyself upright.
22:27 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou
 wilt show thyself unsavoury.
22:28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save:  but thine eyes are upon
 the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
22:29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD:  and the LORD will lighten my
 darkness.
22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop:  by my God have I leaped over
 a wall.
22:31 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.
22:32 For who is God, save the LORD?  and who is a rock, save our God?
22:33 God is my strength and power:  And he maketh my way perfect.
22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet:  and setteth me upon my high
 places.
22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine
 arms.
22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation:  and thy
 gentleness hath made me great.
22:37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.
22:38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again
 until I had consumed them.
22:39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise:
  yea, they are fallen under my feet.
22:40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle:  them that rose up
 against me hast thou subdued under me.
22:41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might
 destroy them that hate me.
22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but
 he answered them not.
22:43 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.
22:44 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.
22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me:  as soon as they hear, they
 shall be obedient unto me.
22:46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close
 places.
22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of
 the rock of my salvation.
22:48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under
 me,
22:49 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.
22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and
 I will sing praises unto thy name.
22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king:  and showeth mercy to his
 anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.

2 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
23:1 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,
23:2 The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
23:3 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.
23:4 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.
23:5 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.
23:6 But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away,
 because they cannot be taken with hands:
23:7 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.
23:8 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.
23:9 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:
23:10 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.
23:11 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.
23:12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the
 Philistines:  and the LORD wrought a great victory.
23:13 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.
23:14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines
 was then in Bethlehem.
23:15 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!
23:16 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.
23:17 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.
23:18 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.
23:19 Was he not most honourable of three?  therefore he was their captain: 
 howbeit he attained not unto the first three.
23:20 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:
23:21 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.
23:22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among
 three mighty men.
23:23 He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the
 first three.  And David set him over his guard.
23:24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of
 Dodo of Bethlehem,
23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
23:27 Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
23:29 Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of
 Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,
23:31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
23:33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,
23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the
 son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
23:35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
23:36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari the Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab the
 son of Zeruiah,
23:38 Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,
23:39 Uriah the Hittite:  thirty and seven in all.

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24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he
 moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
24:2 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.
24:3 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?
24:4 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.
24:5 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:
24:6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they
 came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,
24:7 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.
24:8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at
 the end of nine months and twenty days.
24:9 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.
24:10 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: 
 and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for
 I have done very foolishly.
24:11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto
 the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
24:12 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.
24:13 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.
24:14 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.
24:15 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.
24:16 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.
24:17 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.
24:18 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.
24:19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD
 commanded.
24:20 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.
24:21 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.
24:22 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.
24:23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king.  And
 Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
24:24 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.
24:25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt
 offerings and peace offerings.  So the LORD was entreated for the land, and
 the plague was stayed from Israel.