Study Desk

So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath.

King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the Lord had blessed Obed Edom's family and all that he had; so he got the Covenant Box from Obed's house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration.

And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.

"So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel.

But I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king.

I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Sovereign Lord , have promised this, and your blessing will rest on my descendants forever."

Then he defeated the Moabites. He made the prisoners lie down on the ground and put two out of every three of them to death. So the Moabites became his subjects and paid taxes to him.

So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram took David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze.

So King David sent for him.

Mephibosheth bowed again and said, "I am no better than a dead dog, sir! Why should you be so good to me?"

Ziba answered, "I will do everything Your Majesty commands." So Mephibosheth ate at the king's table, just like one of the king's sons.

So Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem, eating all his meals at the king's table.

King David said, "I must show loyal friendship to Hanun, as his father Nahash did to me." So David sent messengers to express his sympathy. When they arrived in Ammon,

the Ammonite leaders said to the king, "Do you think that it is in your father's honor that David has sent these men to express sympathy to you? Of course not! He has sent them here as spies to explore the city, so that he can conquer us!"

The Ammonites realized that they had made David their enemy, so they hired twenty thousand Syrian soldiers from Bethrehob and Zobah, twelve thousand men from Tob, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men.

Joab saw that the enemy troops would attack him in front and from the rear, so he chose the best of Israel's soldiers and put them in position facing the Syrians.

The Syrians realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, and so they called all their troops together.

So he sent a messenger to find out who she was, and learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

David then sent a message to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent him to David.

So David said, "Then stay here the rest of the day, and tomorrow I'll send you back." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.