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2 Samuel 23-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 Samuel 23-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Last Words of David
23 Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man whom God exalted,[a]
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:(A)
2 The spirit of the Lord speaks through me;
his word is upon my tongue.(B)
3 The God of Israel has spoken;
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
“One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,(C)
4 is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.”(D)
5 Is not my house like this with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
Will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?(E)
6 But the godless[b] are all like thorns that are thrown away,
for they cannot be picked up with the hand;(F)
7 to touch them one uses an iron bar
or the shaft of a spear.
And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.[c]
David’s Mighty Men
8 These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three;[d] he wielded his spear[e] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.
9 Next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew,(G) 10 but he stood his ground. He struck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Then the people came back to him—but only to strip the dead.(H)
11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the army fled from the Philistines.(I) 12 But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines, and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Toward the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.(J) 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.(K) 15 David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, 17 for he said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.(L)
18 Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty.[f] With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the Three.(M) 19 He was the most renowned of the Thirty[g] and became their commander, but he did not attain to the Three.
20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant warrior[h] from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel[i] of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.(N) 21 And he killed an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did and won a name beside the three warriors. 23 He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.(O)
24 Among the Thirty were Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;(P) 25 Shammah of Harod; Elika of Harod;(Q) 26 Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa; 27 Abiezer of Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite; 28 Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai of Netophah; 29 Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah; Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites; 30 Benaiah of Pirathon; Hiddai of the wadis of Gaash; 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth of Bahurim;[j] 32 Eliahba of Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen: Jonathan 33 son of[k] Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite; 34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai of Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite; 35 Hezro[l] of Carmel; Paarai the Arbite; 36 Igal son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani the Gadite; 37 Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah; 38 Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;(R) 39 Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.(S)
David’s Census of Israel and Judah
24 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”(T) 2 So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army[m] who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people, so that I may know how many there are.”(U) 3 But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God increase the number of the people a hundredfold while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to take a census of the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and began from[n] Aroer and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer.(V) 6 Then they came to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites,[o] and they came to Dan, and from Dan[p] they went around to Sidon(W) 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beer-sheba.(X) 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Joab reported to the king the number of those who had been recorded: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand soldiers able to draw the sword, and those of Judah were five hundred thousand.(Y)
Judgment on David’s Sin
10 But afterward, David was stricken to the heart because he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”(Z) 11 When David rose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,(AA) 12 “Go and say to David: Thus says the Lord: Three things I offer[q] you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.”(AB) 13 So Gad came to David and told him; he asked him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you on your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great, but let me not fall into human hands.”(AC)
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba.(AD) 16 But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented concerning the evil and said to the angel who was bringing destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” The angel of the Lord was standing[r] by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.[s](AE) 17 When David saw the angel who was destroying the people, he said to the Lord, “I alone have sinned, and I, the shepherd, have done evil,[t] but these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”(AF)
David’s Altar on the Threshing Floor
18 That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”(AG) 19 Following Gad’s instructions, David went up, as the Lord had commanded. 20 When Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming toward him, and Araunah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be averted from the people.”(AH) 22 Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.(AI) 23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God respond favorably to you.”(AJ)
24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.(AK) 25 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being. So the Lord answered his supplication for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.(AL)
Footnotes
- 23.1 Q ms: MT who was raised on high
- 23.6 Heb worthless
- 23.7 Heb in sitting
- 23.8 Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 23.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 23.18 Heb mss Syr: MT Three
- 23.19 Heb ms Syr: Heb Was he the most renowned of the Three?
- 23.20 Another reading is the son of Ish-hai
- 23.20 Gk: Heb lacks sons of
- 23.31 Cn: Heb the Barhumite
- 23.33 Gk: Heb lacks son of
- 23.35 Another reading is Hezrai
- 24.2 Cn Compare 1 Chr 21.2 Gk: Heb to Joab the commander of the army
- 24.5 Gk mss: Heb encamped in Aroer south of
- 24.6 Gk: Heb to the land of Tahtim-hodshi
- 24.6 Cn Compare Gk: Heb they came to Dan-jaan and
- 24.12 Or hold over
- 24.16 Q ms: MT lacks standing
- 24.16 Q ms Compare 1 Chr 21.16: MT lacks David looked . . . faces
- 24.17 Q ms Gk: MT reads I alone have done wickedly
2 Samuel 23-24
New International Version
2 Samuel 23-24
New International Version
David’s Last Words
23 These are the last words of David:
“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,
the utterance of the man exalted(A) by the Most High,
the man anointed(B) by the God of Jacob,
the hero of Israel’s songs:
2 “The Spirit(C) of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock(D) of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,(E)
when he rules in the fear(F) of God,(G)
4 he is like the light(H) of morning(I) at sunrise(J)
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain(K)
that brings grass from the earth.’
5 “If my house were not right with God,
surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,(L)
arranged and secured in every part;
surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation
and grant me my every desire.
6 But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,(M)
which are not gathered with the hand.
7 Whoever touches thorns
uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;
they are burned up where they lie.”
David’s Mighty Warriors(N)
8 These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:(O)
Josheb-Basshebeth,[a](P) a Tahkemonite,[b] was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed[c] in one encounter.
9 Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai(Q) the Ahohite.(R) As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim[d] for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, 10 but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.
11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. 12 But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam,(S) while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.(T) 14 At that time David was in the stronghold,(U) and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.(V) 15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured(W) it out before the Lord. 17 “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood(X) of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
18 Abishai(Y) the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three.[e] He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. 19 Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.
20 Benaiah(Z) son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,(AA) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 21 And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. 23 He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
24 Among the Thirty were:
Asahel(AB) the brother of Joab,
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
25 Shammah the Harodite,(AC)
Elika the Harodite,
26 Helez(AD) the Paltite,
Ira(AE) son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,
27 Abiezer(AF) from Anathoth,(AG)
Sibbekai[f] the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon the Ahohite,
Maharai(AH) the Netophathite,(AI)
29 Heled[g](AJ) son of Baanah the Netophathite,
Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah(AK) in Benjamin,
30 Benaiah the Pirathonite,(AL)
Hiddai[h] from the ravines of Gaash,(AM)
31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite,
Azmaveth the Barhumite,(AN)
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
the sons of Jashen,
Jonathan 33 son of[i] Shammah the Hararite,
Ahiam son of Sharar[j] the Hararite,
34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite,(AO)
Eliam(AP) son of Ahithophel(AQ) the Gilonite,
35 Hezro the Carmelite,(AR)
Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal son of Nathan from Zobah,(AS)
the son of Hagri,[k]
37 Zelek the Ammonite,
Naharai the Beerothite,(AT) the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,
38 Ira the Ithrite,(AU)
Gareb the Ithrite
39 and Uriah(AV) the Hittite.
There were thirty-seven in all.
David Enrolls the Fighting Men(AW)
24 Again(AX) the anger of the Lord burned against Israel,(AY) and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of(AZ) Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king said to Joab(BA) and the army commanders[l] with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba(BB) and enroll(BC) the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”
3 But Joab(BD) replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over,(BE) and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”
4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.
5 After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer,(BF) south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.(BG) 6 They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.(BH) 7 Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre(BI) and all the towns of the Hivites(BJ) and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba(BK) in the Negev(BL) of Judah.
8 After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.(BM)
10 David was conscience-stricken(BN) after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned(BO) greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.(BP)”
11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad(BQ) the prophet, David’s seer:(BR) 12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three[m] years of famine(BS) in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague(BT) in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy(BU) is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
15 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.(BV) 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented(BW) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord(BX) was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,[n] have done wrong. These are but sheep.(BY) What have they done?(BZ) Let your hand fall on me and my family.”(CA)
David Builds an Altar(CB)
18 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(CC) the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
21 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 the plague on the people may be stopped.”(CD)
22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen(CE) for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah[o] gives(CF) all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24 But the king replied 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.”(CG)
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels[p](CH) of silver for them. 25 David built an altar(CI) to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer(CJ) in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts suggest Ish-Bosheth, that is, Esh-Baal (see also 1 Chron. 11:11 Jashobeam).
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Probably a variant of Hakmonite (see 1 Chron. 11:11)
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:11); Hebrew and other Septuagint manuscripts Three; it was Adino the Eznite who killed eight hundred men
- 2 Samuel 23:9 See 1 Chron. 11:13; Hebrew gathered there.
- 2 Samuel 23:18 Most Hebrew manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:20); two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Thirty
- 2 Samuel 23:27 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 21:18; 1 Chron. 11:29); Hebrew Mebunnai
- 2 Samuel 23:29 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate (see also 1 Chron. 11:30); most Hebrew manuscripts Heleb
- 2 Samuel 23:30 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:32) Hurai
- 2 Samuel 23:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:34); Hebrew does not have son of.
- 2 Samuel 23:33 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:35) Sakar
- 2 Samuel 23:36 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:38); Hebrew Haggadi
- 2 Samuel 24:2 Septuagint (see also verse 4 and 1 Chron. 21:2); Hebrew Joab the army commander
- 2 Samuel 24:13 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 21:12); Hebrew seven
- 2 Samuel 24:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd.
- 2 Samuel 24:23 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts King Araunah
- 2 Samuel 24:24 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
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