The Capture of Rabbah

¹In the spring,at the time when kings march out to war, Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the Ammonites. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it.

²Then David took the crown from the head of their king.It was found to weigh a talent of goldand was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

³David brought out the people who were there and put them to workwith saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

Battles against the Philistines

⁴Some time later, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai,a descendant of the Rephaim,and the Philistines were subdued.

⁵Once again there was a battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brotherof Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

⁶And there was also a battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended from Rapha,

⁷and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimei killed him.

⁸So these descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.

Nathan Rebukes David

¹Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

²The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,

³but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his armsand was like a daughter to him.

⁴Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”

⁵David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

⁶Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

⁷Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

⁸I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.

⁹Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.

¹⁰Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

¹¹This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.

¹²You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

David’s Loss and Repentance

¹³Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”“The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.

¹⁴Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD,the son born to you will surely die.”

¹⁵After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

¹⁶David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackclothon the ground.

¹⁷The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.

¹⁸On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.”

¹⁹When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?”“He is dead,” they replied.

²⁰Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate.

²¹“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.”

²²David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’

²³But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Solomon’s Birth

²⁴Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and theynamed him Solomon.Now the LORD loved the child

²⁵and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.

The Capture of Rabbah

²⁶Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.

²⁷Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.

²⁸Now, therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”

²⁹So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; and he fought against it and captured it.

³⁰Then he took the crown from the head of their king.It weighed a talent of goldand was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

³¹David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws,iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns.He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

The Deceit of the Gibeonites

¹Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills,and all along the coast of the Great Seatoward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)—

²they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

³But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

⁴acted deceptively and set out as envoys,carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

⁵They put worn, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies, and their whole supply of bread was dry and moldy.

⁶They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treatywith us.”

⁷But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?”

⁸“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”

⁹“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt,

¹⁰and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.

¹¹So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go to meet them and say to them: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.’

¹²This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But look, it is now dry and moldy.

¹³These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

¹⁴Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.

¹⁵And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶Three days after they had made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites learned that they were neighbors, living among them.

¹⁷So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

¹⁸But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.

¹⁹All the leaders answered, “We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.

²⁰This is how we will treat them: We will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.”

²¹They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.

²²Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?

²³Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

²⁴The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.

²⁵Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”

²⁶So Joshua did this and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill the Gibeonites.

²⁷On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.

Give Praise, O Servants of the LORD

¹Hallelujah!Praise the name of the LORD.Give praise, O servants of the LORD,

²who stand in the house of the LORD,in the courts of the house of our God.

³Hallelujah, for the LORD is good;sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

⁴For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own,Israel as His treasured possession.

⁵For I know that the LORD is great;our Lord is above all gods.

⁶The LORD does all that pleases Himin the heavens and on the earth,in the seas and in all their depths.

⁷He causes the clouds to risefrom the ends of the earth.He generates the lightning with the rainand brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

⁸He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,of both man and beast.

⁹He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰He struck down many nationsand slaughtered mighty kings:

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,Og king of Bashan,and all the kings of Canaan.

¹²He gave their land as an inheritance,as a heritage to His people Israel.

¹³Your name, O LORD, endures forever,Your renown, O LORD, through all generations.

¹⁴For the LORD will vindicate His peopleand will have compassion on His servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,made by the hands of men.

¹⁶They have mouths, but cannot speak;they have eyes, but cannot see;

¹⁷they have ears, but cannot hear;nor is there breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make them become like them,as do all who trust in them.

¹⁹O house of Israel, bless the LORD;O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

²⁰O house of Levi, bless the LORD;you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!

²¹Blessed be the LORD from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem.Hallelujah!