NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Rivalry, Reign, the Ark, and Messianic Covenant — March 25
2 Samuel 4-8
2 Samuel 4
1 When Saul’s [a] son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he [b] lost heart, and all Israel was troubled. 365N 84.1
2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For Beeroth also was [c] part of Benjamin, 365N 84.2
3 because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.) 365N 84.3
4 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth. [d] 365N 84.4
5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. 365N 84.5
6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they [e] stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 365N 84.6
7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. 365N 84.7
8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.” 365N 84.8
9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “ As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, 365N 84.9
10 when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 365N 84.10
11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his [f] blood at your hand and [g] remove you from the earth?” 365N 84.11
12 So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron. 365N 84.12
2 Samuel 5
1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 365N 84.13
2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” 365N 84.14
3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord . And they anointed David king over Israel. 365N 84.15
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 365N 84.16
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. 365N 84.17
6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 365N 84.18
7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). 365N 84.19
8 Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain. ” Therefore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 365N 84.20
9 Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from [a] the Millo and inward. 365N 84.21
10 So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. 365N 84.22
11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. 365N 84.23
12 So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. 365N 84.24
13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. 365N 84.25
14 Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: [b] Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 365N 84.26
15 Ibhar, [c] Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 365N 84.27
16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. 365N 84.28
17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 365N 84.29
18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 365N 84.30
19 So David inquired of the Lord , saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 365N 84.31
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place [d] Baal Perazim. 365N 84.32
21 And they left their [e] images there, and David and his men carried them away. 365N 84.33
22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 365N 84.34
23 Therefore David inquired of the Lord , and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 365N 84.35
24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 365N 84.36
25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba [f] as far as Gezer. 365N 84.37
2 Samuel 6
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 365N 84.38
2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from [a] Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called [b] by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 365N 84.39
3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new [c] cart. 365N 84.40
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 365N 84.41
5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals. 365N 84.42
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and [d] took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 365N 84.43
7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his [e] error; and he died there by the ark of God. 365N 84.44
8 And David became angry because of the Lord ’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place [f] Perez Uzzah to this day. 365N 84.45
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 365N 84.46
10 So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 365N 84.47
11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household. 365N 84.48
12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 365N 84.49
13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 365N 84.50
14 Then David danced [g] before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 365N 84.51
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 365N 84.52
16 Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord ; and she despised him in her heart. 365N 84.53
17 So they brought the ark of the Lord , and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord . 365N 84.54
18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 365N 84.55
19 Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house. 365N 84.56
20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows [h] shamelessly uncovers himself!” 365N 84.57
21 So David said to Michal, “ It was before the Lord , who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord , over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord . 365N 84.58
22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.” 365N 84.59
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. 365N 84.60
2 Samuel 7
1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 365N 84.61
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.” 365N 84.62
3 Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” 365N 84.63
4 But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 365N 84.64
5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord : “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? 365N 84.65
6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. 365N 84.66
7 Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ 365N 84.67
8 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. 365N 84.68
9 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have [a] cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 365N 84.69
10 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 365N 84.70
11 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord [b] tells you that He will make you a [c] house. 365N 84.71
12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 365N 84.72
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 365N 84.73
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the [d] blows of the sons of men. 365N 84.74
15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 365N 84.75
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before [e] you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” 365N 84.76
17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 365N 84.77
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord ; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God ? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 365N 84.78
19 And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God ; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God ? 365N 84.79
20 Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord God , know Your servant. 365N 84.80
21 For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. 365N 84.81
22 Therefore You are great, [f] O Lord God . For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 365N 84.82
23 And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? 365N 84.83
24 For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord , have become their God. 365N 84.84
25 “Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. 365N 84.85
26 So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. 365N 84.86
27 For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 365N 84.87
28 “And now, O Lord God , You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 365N 84.88
29 Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God , have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” 365N 84.89
2 Samuel 8
1 After this it came to pass that David [a] attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took [b] Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines. 365N 84.90
2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute. 365N 84.91
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates. 365N 84.92
4 David took from him one thousand chariots, [c] seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses , except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots. 365N 84.93
5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 365N 84.94
6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 365N 84.95
7 And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 365N 84.96
8 Also from [d] Betah and from Berothai, [e] cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze. 365N 84.97
9 When [f] Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 365N 84.98
10 then Toi sent [g] Joram his son to King David, to [h] greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 365N 84.99
11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord , along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 365N 84.100
12 from [i] Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 365N 84.101
13 And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand [j] Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 365N 84.102
14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 365N 84.103
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people. 365N 84.104
16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 365N 84.105
17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; [k] Seraiah was the [l] scribe; 365N 84.106
18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [m] chief ministers. 365N 84.107