Study Desk

So the Three broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate in Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord ,

Benaiah killed an Egyptian who was about seven and one-half feet tall and had a spear as large as a weaver's rod. Benaiah had a club, but he grabbed the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

He received more honor than the Thirty, but he did not become a member of the Three. David made him leader of his bodyguards.

David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come peacefully to help me, I welcome you. Join me. But if you have come to turn me over to my enemies, even though I have done nothing wrong, the God of our ancestors will see this and punish you."

Some of the men from Manasseh also joined David when he went with the Philistines to fight Saul. But David and his men did not really help the Philistines. After talking about it, the Philistine leaders decided to send David away. They said, "If David goes back to his master Saul, we will be killed."

When the Philistines heard that David had been made king of all Israel, they went to look for him. But David heard about it and went out to fight them.

But he did not let anyone hurt them; he warned kings not to harm them.

All the gods of the nations are only idols, but the Lord made the skies.

When David moved into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar, but the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord sits in a tent."

But that night God spoke his word to Nathan, saying,

I will be his father, and he will be my son. I took away my love from Saul, who ruled before you, but I will never stop loving your son.

But that was not enough for you, God. You have also made promises about my future family. Lord God, you have treated me like a very important person.

David captured one thousand of his chariots, seven thousand men who rode in chariots, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He crippled all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

Arameans from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand of them.

But the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, "Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to comfort you? No! David sent them to study the land and capture it and spy it out."

but they ran away from the Israelites. David killed seven thousand Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, the commander of the Aramean army.

In the spring, the time of year when kings normally went out to battle, Joab led out the army of Israel. But David stayed in Jerusalem. The army of Israel destroyed the land of Ammon and went to the city of Rabbah and attacked it.

But Joab said, "May the Lord give the nation a hundred times more people. My master the king, all the Israelites are your servants. Why do you want to do this, my master? You will make Israel guilty of sin."

But the king commanded Joab, so Joab left and went through all Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

But Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he didn't like King David's order.