2 Samuel 5:5-9

Contemporary English Version

⁵ He lived in Hebron for the first seven and a half years and ruled only Judah. Then he moved to Jerusalem, where he ruled both Israel and Judah for 33 years.

How David Captured Jerusalem

(1 Chronicles 11.4-9; 14.1,2)

^6 (A) The Jebusites lived in Jerusalem, and David led his army there to attack them. The Jebusites did not think he could get in, so they told him, “You can't get in here! We could keep you out, even if we couldn't see or walk!”

^7-9 David told his troops, “You will have to go up through the water tunnel to get those Jebusites. I hate people like them^[a] who can't walk or see.”

That's why there is still a rule that says, “Only people who can walk and see are allowed in the temple.”^[b]

David captured the fortress on Mount Zion, then he moved there and named it David's City. He had the city rebuilt, starting with the landfill to the east.