by Septuagint
[15] According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so spoke Nathan to David. [16] And king David came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast loved me for ever? [17] And these things were little in thy sight, O God: thou hast also spoken concerning the house of thy servant for a long time to come, and thou hast looked upon me as a man looks upon his fellow, and hast exalted me, O Lord God. [18] What shall David do more toward thee to glorify thee? and thou knowest thy servant. [19] And thou hast wrought all this greatness according to thine heart. [20] O Lord, there is none like thee, and there is no God beside thee, according to all things which we have heard with our ears. [21] Neither is there another nation upon the earth such as thy people Israel, whereas God led him in the way, to redeem a people for himself, to make for himself a great and glorious name, to cast out nations from before thy people, whom thou redeemedst out of Egypt. [22] And thou hast appointed thy people Israel as a people to thyself for ever; and thou, Lord, didst become a God to them. [23] And now, Lord, let the word which thou spokest to thy servant, and concerning his house, be confirmed for ever, and do thou as thou hast spoken. [24] And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, men saying, Lord, Lord, Almighty God of Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. [25] For thou, O Lord my God, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore thy servant has found a willingness to pray before thee. [26] And now, Lord, thou thyself art God, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning thy servant. [27] And now thou hast begun to bless the house of thy servant, so that it should continue for ever before thee: for thou, Lord, hast blessed it, and do thou bless it for ever.
Chapter 18
[1] And it came to pass afterwards, that David smote the Philistines, and routed them, and took Geth and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.
[2] And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and tributaries.
[3] And David smote Adraazar king of Suba of Emath, as he was going to establish power toward the river Euphrates. [4] And David took of them a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand infantry: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but there were reserved of them a hundred chariots. [5] And the Syrian came from Damascus to help Adraazar king of Suba; and David smote of the Syrian army twenty and two thousand men. [6] And David put a garrison in Syria near Damascus; and they became tributary servants to David: and the Lord delivered David wherever he went. [7] And David took the golden collars that were on the servants of Adraazar, and brought them to Jerusalem. [8] And David took out of Matabeth, and out of the chief cities of Adraazar very much brass: of this Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the brazen vessels.
[9] And Thoa king of Emath heard that David had smitten the whole force of Adraazar king of Suba. [10] And he sent Aduram his son to king David to ask how he was, and to congratulate him because he had fought against Adraazar, and smitten him; for Thoa was the enemy of Adraazar. [11] And all the golden and silver and brazen vessels, even these king David consecrated to the Lord, with the silver and the gold which he took from all the nations; from Idumaea, and Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalec.
[12] And Abesa son of Saruia smote the Idumeans in the valley of Salt, eighteen thousand. [13] And he put garrisons in the valley; and all the Idumaeans became David’s servants: and the Lord delivered David wherever he went.
[14] So David reigned over all Israel; and he executed judgment and justice to all his people. [15] And Joab the son of Saruia was over the army, and Josaphat the son of Achilud was recorder. [16] And Sadoc son of Achitob, and Achimelech son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Susa was the scribe; [17] and Banaeas the son of Jodae was over the Cherethite and the Phelethite, and the sons of David were the chief deputies of the king.
Chapter 19
[1] And it came to pass after this, that Naas the king of the children of Ammon died, and Anan his son reigned in his stead. [2] And David said, I will act kindly toward Anan the son of Naas, as his father acted kindly towards me. And David sent messengers to condole with him on the death of his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Anan, to comfort him. [3] And the chiefs of the children of Ammon said to Anan, Is it to honour thy father before thee, that David has sent comforters to thee? Have not his servants come to thee that they might search the city, and to spy out the land? [4] And Anan took the servants of David, and shaved them, and cut off the half of their garments as far as their tunic, and sent them away. [5] And there came men to report to David concerning the men: and he sent to meet them, for they were greatly disgraced: and the king said, Dwell in Jericho until your beards have grown, and return.
[6] And the children of Ammon saw that the people of David were ashamed, and Anan and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen out of Syria of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria Maacha, and from Sobal. [7] And they hired for themselves two and thirty thousand chariots, and the king of Maacha and his people; and they came and encamped before Medaba: and the children of Ammon assembled out of their cities, and came to fight.
[8] And David heard, and sent Joab and all the host of mighty men. [9] And the children of Ammon came forth, and set themselves in array for battle by the gate of the city: and the kings that were come forth encamped by themselves in the plain. [10] And Joab saw that they were fronting him to fight against him before and behind, and he chose some out of all the young men of Israel, and they set themselves in array against the Syrian. [11] And the rest of the people he gave into the hand of his brother Abesai, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. [12] And he said, If the Syrian should prevail against me, then shalt thou deliver me: and if the children of Ammon should prevail against thee, then will I deliver thee. [13] Be of good courage, and let us be strong, for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord shall do what is good in his eyes.
[14] So Joab and the people that were with him set themselves in battle array against the Syrians, and they fled from them. [15] And the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, and they also fled from before Abesai, and from before Joab his brother, and they came to the city: and Joab came to Jerusalem.
[16] And the Syrian saw that Israel had defeated him, and he sent messengers, and they brought out the Syrians from beyond the river; and Sophath the commander-in-chief of the forces of Adraazar was before them. [17] And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and crossed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So David set his army in array to fight against the Syrians, and they fought against him. [18] And the Syrians fled from before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand riders in chariots, and forty thousand infantry, and he slew Sophath the commander-in-chief of the forces. [19] And the servants of Adraazar saw that they were defeated before Israel, and they made peace with David and served him: and the Syrians would not any more help the children of Ammon.
Chapter 20
[1] And it came to pass at the return of the year, at the time of the going forth of kings to war, that Joab gathered the whole force of the army, and they ravaged the land of the children of Ammon; and he came and besieged Rabba. But David abode in Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabba and destroyed it. [2] And David took the crown of Molchom their king off his head, and the weight of it was found to be a talent of gold, and on it were precious stones; and it was placed on the head of David: and he brought out the spoils of the city which were very great. [3] And he brought out the people that were in it, and sawed them asunder with saws, and cut them with iron axes, and with harrows: and thus David did to all the children of Ammon. And David and all his people returned to Jerusalem.
[4] And it came to pass afterward that there was again war with the Philistines in Gazer: then Sobochai the Sosathite smote
Saphut of the sons of the giants, and laid him low.
[5] And there was war again with the Philistines; and Eleanan the son of Jair smote Lachmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, and the wood of his spear was as a weavers’ beam.
[6] And there was again war in Geth, and there was a man of extraordinary size, and his fingers and toes were six on each hand and foot, four and twenty; and he was descended from the giants. [7] And he defied Israel, and Jonathan the son of Samaa the brother of David slew him. [8] These were born to Rapha in Geth; all four were giants, and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
Chapter 21
[1] And the devil stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. [2] And king David said to Joab and to the captains of the forces, Go, number Israel from Bersabee even to Dan, and bring me the account, and I shall know their number. [3] And Joab said, May the Lord add to his people, a hundred-fold as many as they are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it: all are the servants of my lord. Why does my lord seek this thing? do it not, lest it become a sin to Israel. [4] Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab; and Joab went out and passed through all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. [5] And Joab gave the number of the mustering of the people to David: and all Israel was a million and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and the sons of Juda were four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword. [6] But he numbered not Levi and Benjamin among them; for the word of the king was painful to Joab.
[7] And there was evil in the sight of the Lord respecting this thing; and he smote Israel. [8] And David said to God, I have sinned exceedingly, in that I have done this thing: and now, I pray thee, remove the sin of thy servant; for I have been exceedingly foolish.
[9] And the Lord spoke to Gad the seer, saying, [10] Go and speak to David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I bring three things upon thee: choose one of them for thyself, and I will do it to thee. [11] And Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose for thyself, [12] either three years of famine, or that thou shouldest flee three months from the face of thine enemies, and the sword of thine enemies shall be employed to destroy thee, or that the sword of the Lord and pestilence should be three days in the land, and the angel of the Lord shall be destroying in all the inheritance of Israel. And now consider what I shall answer to him that sent the message.
[13] And David said to Gad, They are very hard for me, even all the three: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are very abundant, and let me not fall by any means into the hands of man.
[14] So the Lord brought pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. [15] And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord saw, and repented for the evil, and said to the angel that was destroying, Let it suffice thee; withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. [16] And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord, standing between the earth and the heaven, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem: and David and the elders clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. [17] And David said to God, Was it not I that gave orders to number the people? and I am the guilty one; I have greatly sinned: but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord God, let thy hand be upon me, and upon my father’s house, and not on thy people for destruction, O Lord!
[18] And the angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David, that he should go up to erect and altar to the Lord, in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. [19] And David went up according to the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord. [20] And Orna turned and saw the king; and he hid himself and his four sons with him. Now Orna was threshing wheat. [21] And David came to Orna; and Orna came forth from the threshing-floor, and did obeisance to David with his face to the ground. [22] And David said to Orna, Give me thy place of the threshing-floor, and I will build upon it an altar to the Lord: give it me for its worth in money, and the plague shall cease from among the people. [23] And Orna said to David, Take it to thyself, and let my lord the king do what is right in his eyes: see, I have given the calves for a whole-burnt-offering, and the plough for wood, and the corn for a meat-offering; I have given all.
[24] And king David said to Orna, Nay; for I will surely buy it for its worth in money: for I will not take thy property for the Lord, to offer a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord without cost to myself. [25] And David gave to Orna for his place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. [26] And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and he cried to the Lord, and he answered him by fire out of heaven on the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, and it consumed the whole-burnt-offering. [27] And the Lord spoke to the angel; and he put up the sword into its sheath.
[28] At that time when David saw that the Lord answered him in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite, he also sacrificed there. [29] And the tabernacle of the Lord which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, were at that time in the high place at Gabaon. [30] And David could not go before it to enquire of God; for he hasted not because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
Chapter 22
[1] And David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for whole-burnt-offering for Israel.
[2] And David gave orders to gather all the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he appointed stone-hewers to hew polished stones to build the house to God. [3] And David prepared much iron for the nails of the doors and the gate; the hinges also and brass in abundance, there was no weighing of it. [4] And cedar threes without number: for the Sidonians and the Tyrians brought cedar trees in abundance to David. [5] And David said, My son Solomon is a tender child, and the house for me to build to the Lord is for superior magnificence for a name and for a glory through all the earth: I will make preparation for it. And David prepared abundantly before his death.
[6] And he called Solomon his son, and commanded him to build the house for the Lord God of Israel. [7] And David said to Solomon, My child, it was in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord God. [8] But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast carried on great wars: thou shalt not build a house to my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth before me. [9] Behold, a son shall be born to thee, he shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. [10] He shall build a house to my name; and he shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom in Israel for ever. [11] And now, my son, the Lord shall be with thee, and prosper thee; and thou shalt build a house to the Lord thy God, as he spoke concerning thee. [12] Only may the Lord give thee wisdom and prudence, and strengthen thee over Israel, both to keep and to do the law of the Lord thy God. [13] Then will he prosper thee, if thou take heed to do the commandments and judgments which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel: be courageous and strong; fear not, nor be terrified.
[14] And, behold, I according to my poverty have prepared for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a million talents of silver, and brass and iron without measure; for it is abundant; and I have prepared timber and stones; and do thou add to these. [15] And of them that are with thee do thou add to the multitude of workmen; let there be artificers and masons, and carpenters, and every skilful workman in every work; [16] in gold and silver, brass and iron, of which there is no number. Arise and do, and the Lord be with thee.
[17] And David charged all the chief men of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, [18] Is not the Lord with you? and he has given you rest round about, for he has given into your hands the inhabitants of the land; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people. [19] Now set your hearts and souls to seek after the Lord your God: and rise, and build a sanctuary to your God to carry in the ark of the cove
nant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.
Chapter 23
[1] And David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel in his stead. [2] And he assembled all the chief men of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites. [3] And the Levites numbered themselves from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls amounted to thirty and eight thousand men. [4] Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord there were twenty-four thousand, and there were six thousand scribes and judges; [5] and four thousand door-keepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord.
[6] And David divided them into daily courses, for the sons of Levi, for Gedson, Caath, and Merari. [7] And for the family of Gedson, Edan, and Semei. [8] The sons of Edan were Jeiel, the chief, and Zethan, and Joel, three. [9] The sons of Semei; Salomith, Jeiel, and Dan, three: these were the chiefs of the families of Edan. [10] And to the sons of Semei, Jeth, and Ziza, and Joas, and Beria: these were the four sons of Semei. [11] And Jeth was the chief, and Ziza the second: and Joas and Beria did not multiply sons, and they became only one reckoning according to the house of their father.