David sanf to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD deliverd him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
He said: "The LORD is my rock my fortress and my dekiverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the home of my salvation. He is mys tronghold, my refuge and my savior -from violent men you save me.
I callto the LORD ,who is worthy of praise; and I am saved from my enemies.
:The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destructiom overwhelmed me.
The cords of theg rave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress. I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
"The earth tremble and quaked, the foundations of the heacens shook,they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coats blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down, dark cloulds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of teh wind
He made darkness his canopy around him the dark rain cloulds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blaxed froth.
The LORD thunder from heaven ; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them
The valley f the sea were exposed and the founations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD. at the breath from his nostrils.
"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy.from my foes, who were too strong for me
They contronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
He brouthr me out into a spacious place, he rescued me because he delighted in me
"The LORD has dealt with me accoording to my righteousness;according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me
For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil ny turning from my God
All his laws are before me; I have not done evil by turning from my God
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin
The LORD has rewarded me a according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight/
"To the faithful you show yourself faithful,to the blameless you show yourself shrewd.
to the pure you show yourself pure, but ti the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble, but your eyes are on the bayghty to bring them low.
You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light
with your help I can advande against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
"As for God, his way is perfect' the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the LORD? A nd who is the Rock ezcept our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me tos tanmd on the heights
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can benb a bow of bronze
You give me your shield of civtory; you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn
"I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.I crushed them completely, and theyc ould not rise; they fell bebeath my feet.
You made my nenmies turn their backs in filight, and I destroyed my foes
They cried for help. but there was no one tos ave them-to the LORD, but he did not answer.
I beat them as fine as the dust of thee arth; I punded and trampled them like mud in thes treets.
"You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; you have preserved me as the head of bnations. People I did not know are sybject to me.
I beat them as fime as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
"You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; you have preserved me from thea ttacks of my people; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I ddi not know are sybject to me
and foreigners come cringing to me, as soon as they hear me ,they obey me.
The all lose heart; they come trembling from their strong holds,
"The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me, who puts the antions under me.
who sets me free from my nenies, You exalted me above me foes, from ciolent me you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, amonf the antions; I will sing praises to your name.
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever."
2 Samuel 23
These are tge last words of David;"The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalleted by the Most High. the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel's singer of songs;
"The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on mu tongue
The God of Israel spoke. the Rock of Isarael said to me; When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rulers in the fear of God.
he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.
"Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged ands ecured in every part> Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?
But evil men are all the be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand.
Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie."
These are the names of David's mighty men; Josheb- Bashebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three, he raised his spear against eight hundred me, whom he killed in one encounter.
Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they raunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle; Then the men of Israel retreated,
but hes tood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword, The troops returned to Eleazar, but only tos trip the dead.
Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded tgether at a place where there was field full of lentils, Israel 's troops fled from them
But Shammah took his stand to the middle of the field. He defended it and struck then Philistines down, and the LORD brought about ag reat victory.
During harvest time, three of the thirty chief men came down to David at tehc ave of Adulllam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
At mthat time David was in the stronmghold , and thje Philistine garrison was at Bethelehem.
David longed for water ands aid,"Oh , that someone would get me a drink of water trom thew ell near theg ate of Bethelhem!"
So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from thew ell near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused tod rink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD.
"Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this! he said,"Is it not the blood of men whow ent at the risk of their lives?" And David would not drink it. Such where the exploits of the three mighty men,
Abishai the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the TRhree. He raised hjos spear against three hundred men, whom he killed , and so he became as famoous as the Three.
Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed grar exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men, He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.
And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in nhis hand. Benaiah went against him with a club . He snatched the spear from the Egyptuan's hand and killed him with his own spear.
Such were the exploits of Benaiag son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the tjhree mighty men
He was held in grater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three, And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
Among the Thirty were; Asahel the brother of Joab. Ehanan son of Dodo from Berhlehem.
Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite.
Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,
Abiezer frin Abathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite.
Zalmon the Aboihite. Maharai the Netophathite,
Heled son of Baanah the Netophathte, Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin.
Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the ravines of Gaash.
Abe-Albon the Arabathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite
Eliahaba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonaathan
son of Shammah thge Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite.
Eliophlet son of Ahashbai the Maacathite, Elian son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
Hezro the Carmilite Paarai the Arbite
Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, the son of Hagri.
Zelek the Ammonite, Naharau the Beerithite, the armor -bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah.
Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Gareb the Tthrite
and Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all
2 Samuel 24
Again the anger of the LORD burned agaisnt Israel, and he incited David against them, saying,"Go and take a censusb of Israel and Judah."
So the king said to Joab abd teha rmy commanders with him,"Go throughjout the trubes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba abnd enroll the figjting men, so that I may know how many there are."
Nut Joan replied to the king."May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it, But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing>"
The king's word, jhowever, overruled Joab and thea rmy commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.
After crossing teh Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.
They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.
Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hovites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.
After they had gone through the entire land they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
Joab reported the number of the figting men to the king in Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bidied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.
David was consience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and said to the LORD,"I have sinned freatly in what I have done, Now, O LORE, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant, I have done a very foolish thing."
Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the propjet, David's seer.
"Go and tell David," This is what the LORD says" I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for to carry out against you."
So Gad went to David ands aid to him, "Shall trhere come upon you three years of famiine in your land? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one whos end me."
David said to Gad," I am ind eep distress/ Let us gall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great , but do not let me fall into the hands of men."
So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated. and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem. the LORD was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflictiing, the people."Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel who was striking down the people , he said to the LORD,"I am the one who has sinned and done wrong, These are but sheep, What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family."
On that day Gad went to David and said to him,"Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
So David went up, as the LORD had commanded through Gad.
When Araunaj looled and saw the king and his men coming toward hnim, he went out and nowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" "To buy your threshing floor," David answered,"so I can build an altar to the LORD, that then plague on the people may be stopped."
Araunah said to David,"Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up Here are oxen for the burnt offering and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.
O king, Araunah gives all this to the king," Aaraunah also said to him,"May the LORD your God accept you."
But the king reliued to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifry shekels of silver for them.
David built an altar to the LORD there ands acrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD ansawered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.