Study Desk

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

He is a tower of salvation for his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.

These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

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.

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.

Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them, and won a name beside the Three.

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.

He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

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."

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 then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

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.

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."

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.

So his servants said to him, "Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king, and be his attendant; let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may be warm."

His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, "Why have you done thus and so?" He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.

Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatted cattle by the stone Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah,

but he did not invite the prophet Nathan or Benaiah or the warriors or his brother Solomon.

So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.

Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, that my son Solomon and I will be counted offenders."