Study Desk

When David came to the summit, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head.

Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the oracle of God; so all the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.

Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, "All is well!" He prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground, and said, "Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king."

And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? So may God do to me, and more, if you are not the commander of my army from now on, in place of Joab.'"

He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you.

They buried the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did all that the king commanded. After that, God heeded supplications for the land.

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

In my distress I called upon the Lord ; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord , and have not wickedly departed from my God.

By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God, but the Lord ? And who is a rock, except our God?

The God who has girded me with strength has opened wide my path.

The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,

Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:

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,

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?

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?"

All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the Lord your God respond favorably to you."