The Lord's Message to David

(2 Samuel 7.1-17)

17 Soon after David moved into his new palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look around! I live in a palace made of cedar, but the sacred chest is kept in a tent.”

² Nathan replied, “The Lord is with you—do what you want.”

³ That night, the Lord told Nathan ⁴ to go to David and tell him:

David, you are my servant, so listen carefully: You are not the one to build a temple for me. ⁵ I didn't live in a temple when I brought my people out of Egypt, and I don't live in one now. A tent has always been my home wherever I have gone with them. ⁶ I chose special leaders and told them to be like shepherds for my people Israel. But did I ever say anything to even one of them about building a cedar temple for me?

⁷ David, this is what I, the Lord All-Powerful, say to you. I brought you in from the fields where you took care of sheep, and I made you the leader of my people. ⁸ Wherever you went, I helped you and destroyed your enemies right in front of your eyes. I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.

⁹ I have given my people Israel a land of their own where they can live in peace. They will no longer have to tremble with fear—evil nations won't bother them, as they did ¹⁰ when I let judges rule my people, and I will keep your enemies from attacking you.

Now I promise that like you, your descendants will be kings. ¹¹ I'll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried beside your ancestors. I'll make him a strong ruler, ¹² and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me. ^13 (A) I will be like a father to him, and he will be like a son to me. I will never put an end to my agreement with him, as I put an end to my agreement with Saul, who was king before you. ¹⁴ I will make sure that your son and his descendants will rule my people and my kingdom forever.

¹⁵ Nathan told David exactly what the Lord had said.

David Gives Thanks to the Lord

(2 Samuel 7.18-29)

¹⁶ David went into the tent he had set up for the sacred chest. He sat there and prayed:

Lord God, my family and I don't deserve what you have already done for us, ¹⁷ and yet you have promised to do even more for my descendants. You are treating me as if I am a very important person.^{[a] 18} I am your servant, and you know my thoughts. What else can I say, except that you have honored me? ¹⁹ It was your choice to do these wonderful things for me and to make these promises.

²⁰ No other god is like you, Lord—you alone are God. Everything we have heard about you is true. ²¹ And there is no other nation on earth like Israel, the nation you rescued from slavery in Egypt to be your own. You became famous by using great and wonderful miracles to force other nations and their gods out of your land, so that your people could live here. ²² You have chosen Israel to be your people forever, and you have become their God.

²³ Lord God, please do what you promised me and my descendants. ²⁴ Then you will be famous forever, and everyone will say, “The Lord All-Powerful rules Israel and is their God.”

My kingdom will be strong, ²⁵ because you are my God, and you have promised that my descendants will be kings. That's why I have the courage to pray to you like this, even though I am only your servant.

²⁶ You are the Lord God, and you have made this good promise to me. ²⁷ Now please bless my descendants forever, and let them always be your chosen kings. You have already blessed my family, and I know you will bless us forever.

A List of David's Victories in War

(2 Samuel 8.1-14)

18 Later, David attacked and defeated the Philistines. He captured their town of Gath and the nearby villages.

² David also defeated the Moabites, and so they had to accept him as their ruler and pay taxes to him.

³ While King Hadadezer of Zobah was trying to gain control of the territory near the Euphrates River, David met him in battle at Hamath and defeated him. ⁴ David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 chariot drivers, and 20,000 soldiers. And he crippled all but 100 of the horses.

⁵ When troops from the Syrian kingdom of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. ⁶ Then David stationed some of his troops in Damascus, and the people there had to accept David as their ruler and pay taxes to him.

Everywhere David went, the Lord helped him win battles.

⁷ Hadadezer's officers had carried gold shields, but David took these shields and brought them back to Jerusalem. ^8 (B) He also took a lot of bronze from the cities of Tibhath and Cun, which had belonged to Hadadezer. Later, Solomon used this bronze to make the large bowl called the Sea, and to make the pillars and other furnishings for the temple.

^9-10 King Tou of Hamath and King Hadadezer had been enemies. So when Tou heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's whole army, he sent his son Hadoram to congratulate David on his victory. Hadoram also brought him gifts made of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹ David gave these gifts to the Lord, just as he had done with the silver and gold he had captured from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.

^12 (C) Abishai the son of Zeruiah defeated the Edomite army in Salt Valley and killed 18,000 of their troops. ¹³ Then he stationed troops in Edom, and the people there had to accept David as their ruler.

Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victory in war.

A List of David's Officials

(2 Samuel 8.15-18)

¹⁴ David ruled all Israel with fairness and justice.

¹⁵ Joab the son of Zeruiah was the commander in chief of the army.

Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud kept the government records.

¹⁶ Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests.

Shavsha was the secretary.

¹⁷ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was the commander of David's bodyguard.^[b]

David's sons were his highest-ranking officials.

Israel Fights Ammon and Syria

(2 Samuel 10.1-19)

19 Some time later, King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king. ² David said, “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to his son.” He sent some officials to Ammon to tell Hanun how sorry he was that his father had died.

But when David's officials arrived at Ammon, ³ the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, “Do you really believe King David is honoring your father by sending these men to comfort you? He probably sent them to spy on our country, so he can come and destroy it.”

⁴ Hanun arrested David's officials and had their beards shaved off and their robes cut off just below the waist, and then he sent them away. ⁵ They were terribly ashamed.

When David found out what had happened to his officials, he sent a message that told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back. Then you can come home.”

⁶ The Ammonites realized they had made David furious. So they paid 34 tons of silver to hire chariot troops from Mesopotamia and from the Syrian kingdoms of Maacah and Zobah. ⁷ Thirty-two thousand troops, as well as the king of Maacah and his army, came and camped near Medeba. The Ammonite troops also left their towns and came to prepare for battle.

⁸ David heard what was happening, and he sent out Joab with his army. ⁹ The Ammonite troops marched to the entrance of the city^[c] and prepared for battle, while the Syrian troops took their positions in the open fields.

¹⁰ Joab saw that the enemy troops were lined up on both sides of him. So he picked some of the best Israelite soldiers to fight the Syrians. ¹¹ Then he put his brother Abishai in command of the rest of the army and told them to fight against the Ammonites. ¹² Joab told his brother, “If the Syrians are too much for me to handle, come and help me. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I'll come and help you. ¹³ Be brave and fight hard to protect our people and the towns of our Lord God. I pray he will do whatever pleases him.”

¹⁴ Joab and his soldiers attacked the Syrians, and the Syrians ran from them. ¹⁵ When the Ammonite troops saw that the Syrians had run away, they ran from Abishai's soldiers and went back into their own city. Joab then returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ As soon as the Syrians realized they had been defeated, they sent for their troops that were stationed on the other side of the Euphrates River. Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer's army, led these troops to Ammon.

¹⁷ David found out what the Syrians were doing, and he brought Israel's entire army together. They crossed the Jordan River, and he commanded them to take their positions facing the Syrian troops.

Soon after the fighting began, ¹⁸ the Syrians ran from Israel. David killed 7,000 chariot troops and 40,000 regular soldiers. He also killed Shophach, their commander.

¹⁹ When the kings who had been under Hadadezer's rule saw that Israel had defeated them, they made peace with David and accepted him as their new ruler. The Syrians never helped the Ammonites again.