David Anointed King of Judah

2 It happened after this that David ^(A)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?”

And the Lord said to him, “Go up.”

David said, “Where shall I go up?”

And He said, “To ^(B)Hebron.”

² So David went up there, and his ^(C)two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ And David brought up ^(D)the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

^4 (E)Then the men of Judah came, and there they ^(F)anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, ^(G)“The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, ^(H)“You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. ⁶ And now may ^(I)the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ishbosheth Made King of Israel

⁸ But ^(J)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took ^[a]Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(K)Mahanaim; ⁹ and he made him king over ^(L)Gilead, over the ^(M)Ashurites, over ^(N)Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ And ^(O)the ^[b]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Israel and Judah at War

¹² Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to ^(P)Gibeon. ¹³ And ^(Q)Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by ^(R)the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us.”

And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

¹⁵ So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶ And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ^[c]the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

¹⁸ Now the ^(S)three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was ^(T)as fleet of foot ^(U)as a wild gazelle. ¹⁹ So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.

²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?”

He answered, “I am.”

²¹ And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. ²² So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” ²³ However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him ^(V)in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood ^(W)still.

²⁴ Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became ^[d]a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?”

²⁷ And Joab said, “As God lives, ^[e]unless ^(X)you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.” ²⁸ So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore. ²⁹ Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel. ³¹ But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died. ³² Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in ^(Y)Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak.

David Made King over All Israel^(A)

11 Then ^(B)all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. ² Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord your ^(C)God said to you, ‘You shall ^(D)shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel.’ ” ³ Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And ^(E)they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord ^[a]by ^(F)Samuel.

The City of David^(G)

⁴ And David and all Israel ^(H)went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, ^(I)where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. ⁵ But the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come in here!” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). ⁶ Now David said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be ^[b]chief and captain.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief. ⁷ Then David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it ^[c]the City of David. ⁸ And he built the city around it, from ^[d]the Millo to the surrounding area. Joab ^[e]repaired the rest of the city. ⁹ So David ^(J)went on and became great, and the Lord of hosts was with ^(K)him.

The Mighty Men of David^(L)

¹⁰ Now ^(M)these were the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to ^(N)the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

¹¹ And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: ^(O)Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, ^(P)chief of ^[f]the captains; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed by him at one time.

¹² After him was Eleazar the son of ^(Q)Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at ^[g]Pasdammim. Now there the Philistines were gathered for battle, and there was a piece of ground full of barley. So the people fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ But they ^[h]stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹⁵ Now three of the thirty chief men ^(R)went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the army of the Philistines encamped ^(S)in the Valley of ^[i]Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” ¹⁸ So the three 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 David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. ¹⁹ And he said, “Far be it from me, O my God, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men.

^20 (T)Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of another ^[j]three. He had lifted up his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. ^21 (U)Of the three he was more honored than the other two men. Therefore he became their captain. However he did not attain to the first three.

²² Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who ^[k]had done many deeds. ^(V)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. ²³ And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great height, ^[l]five cubits tall. In the Egyptian’s hand there was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. ²⁵ Indeed he was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.

²⁶ Also the mighty warriors were ^(W)Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^27 [m]Shammoth the Harorite, ^(X)Helez the ^[n]Pelonite, ^28 (Y)Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ^(Z)Abiezer the Anathothite, ^29 [o]Sibbechai the Hushathite, ^[p]Ilai the Ahohite, ^30 (AA)Maharai the Netophathite, ^[q]Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ^31 [r]Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, of the sons of Benjamin, ^(AB)Benaiah the Pirathonite, ^32 [s]Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, ^[t]Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the ^[u]Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of ^[v]Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shageh the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of ^[w]Sacar the Hararite, ^[x]Eliphal the son of ^[y]Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ^37 [z]Hezro the Carmelite, ^[aa]Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the ^[ab]Berothite (the armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^41 (AC)Uriah the Hittite, ^[ac]Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite (a chief of the Reubenites) and thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan the son of Maachah, Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

A Plea for Relief from Persecutors

A ^(A)Contemplation^[a] of David. A Prayer ^(B)when he was in the cave.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(A)

14 At that time ^(B)Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” ^3 (C)For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴ Because John had said to him, ^(D)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, ^(E)because they counted him as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. ⁷ Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

⁸ So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”

⁹ And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. ¹⁰ So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(F)

^13 (G)When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He ^(H)was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. ^15 (I)When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, ^(J)He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. ²¹ Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(K)

²² Immediately Jesus ^[a]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. ^23 (L)And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. ^(M)Now when evening came, He was alone there. ²⁴ But the boat was now ^[b]in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

²⁵ Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him ^(N)walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^[c]“Be of good ^(O)cheer! ^[d]It is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw ^[e]that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of ^(P)little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³ Then those who were in the boat ^[f]came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly ^(Q)You are the Son of God.”

Many Touch Him and Are Made Well^(R)

^34 (S)When they had crossed over, they came ^[g]to the land of Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, ³⁶ and begged Him that they might only ^(T)touch the hem of His garment. And ^(U)as many as touched it were made perfectly well.