NKJV Bible in 365 Days
From Praise to Plague: David's Final Acts — March 30
2 Samuel 22-24
2 Samuel 22
1 Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 365N 89.1
2 And he said: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 365N 89.2
3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn [a] of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. 365N 89.3
4 I will call upon the Lord , who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. 365N 89.4
5 “When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness [b] made me afraid. 365N 89.5
6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 365N 89.6
7 In my distress I called upon the Lord , And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears. 365N 89.7
8 “Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of [c] heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 365N 89.8
9 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 365N 89.9
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. 365N 89.10
11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew; And He [d] was seen upon the wings of the wind. 365N 89.11
12 He made darkness canopies around Him, Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 365N 89.12
13 From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 365N 89.13
14 “The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. 365N 89.14
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them; Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them. 365N 89.15
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered, At the rebuke of the Lord , At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. 365N 89.16
17 “He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. 365N 89.17
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me; For they were too strong for me. 365N 89.18
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. 365N 89.19
20 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. 365N 89.20
21 “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 365N 89.21
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord , And have not wickedly departed from my God. 365N 89.22
23 For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 365N 89.23
24 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 365N 89.24
25 Therefore the Lord has [e] recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to [f] my cleanness in His eyes. 365N 89.25
26 “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 365N 89.26
27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 365N 89.27
28 You will save the humble [g] people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down. 365N 89.28
29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord ; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. 365N 89.29
30 For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. 365N 89.30
31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 365N 89.31
32 “For who is God, except the Lord ? And who is a rock, except our God? 365N 89.32
33 [h] God is my strength and power, And He makes [i] my way perfect. 365N 89.33
34 He makes [j] my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. 365N 89.34
35 He teaches my hands [k] to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 365N 89.35
36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. 365N 89.36
37 You enlarged my path under me; So my feet did not slip. 365N 89.37
38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 365N 89.38
39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. 365N 89.39
40 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have [l] subdued under me those who rose against me. 365N 89.40
41 You have also [m] given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me. 365N 89.41
42 They looked, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord , but He did not answer them. 365N 89.42
43 Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trod them like dirt in the streets, And I [n] spread them out. 365N 89.43
44 “You have also delivered me from the [o] strivings of my people; You have kept me as the head of the nations. A people I have not known shall serve me. 365N 89.44
45 The foreigners submit to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me. 365N 89.45
46 The foreigners fade away, And [p] come frightened from their hideouts. 365N 89.46
47 “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 365N 89.47
48 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 365N 89.48
49 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 365N 89.49
50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord , among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. 365N 89.50
51 “ He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.” 365N 89.51
2 Samuel 23
1 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: 365N 89.52
2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. 365N 89.53
3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. 365N 89.54
4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.’ 365N 89.55
5 “Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase? 365N 89.56
6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands. 365N 89.57
7 But the man who touches them Must be [a] armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.” 365N 89.58
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: [b] Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among [c] the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 365N 89.59
9 And after him was Eleazar the son of [d] Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 365N 89.60
10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. 365N 89.61
11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. 365N 89.62
12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory. 365N 89.63
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 365N 89.64
14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 365N 89.65
15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 365N 89.66
16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord . 365N 89.67
17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord , that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men. 365N 89.68
18 Now Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of [e] another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. 365N 89.69
19 Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three. 365N 89.70
20 Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, [f] who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 365N 89.71
21 And he killed an Egyptian, [g] a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 365N 89.72
22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 365N 89.73
23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard. 365N 89.74
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 365N 89.75
25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 365N 89.76
26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 365N 89.77
27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 365N 89.78
28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 365N 89.79
29 Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, 365N 89.80
30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of Gaash, 365N 89.81
31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 365N 89.82
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan, 365N 89.83
33 Shammah the [h] Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 365N 89.84
34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 365N 89.85
35 [i] Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 365N 89.86
36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 365N 89.87
37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), 365N 89.88
38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 365N 89.89
39 and Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all. 365N 89.90
2 Samuel 24
1 Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, [a] number Israel and Judah.” 365N 89.91
2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 365N 89.92
3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 365N 89.93
4 Nevertheless the king’s word [b] prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. 365N 89.94
5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. 365N 89.95
6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; 365N 89.96
7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 365N 89.97
8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 365N 89.98
9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 365N 89.99
10 And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord , “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord , take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 365N 89.100
11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 365N 89.101
12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord : “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 365N 89.102
13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven [c] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” 365N 89.103
14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord , for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 365N 89.104
15 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 365N 89.105
16 And when the [d] angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of [e] Araunah the Jebusite. 365N 89.106
17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.” 365N 89.107
18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 365N 89.108
19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. 365N 89.109
20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 365N 89.110
21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord , that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” 365N 89.111
22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 365N 89.112
23 All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 365N 89.113
24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 365N 89.114
25 And David built there an altar to the Lord , and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel. 365N 89.115