David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem 15:1 David constructed buildings in the City of David; he then prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 15:2 Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD
David Leads in Worship 16:1 They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. 16:2 When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the LORD’s name.
God Makes a Promise to David 17:1 When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of the LORD’s covenant is under a tent.” 17:2 Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind, for God
David Conquers the Neighboring Nations 18:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. He took Gath and its surrounding towns away from the Philistines. 18:2 He defeated the Moabites; the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. 18:3 David defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah as far as Hamath, when he went to extend his authority to the
David’s Campaign against the Ammonites 19:1 Later King Nahash of the Ammonites died and his son succeeded him. 19:2 David said, “I will express my loyalty to Hanun son of Nahash, for his father was loyal to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy over his father’s death. When David’s servants entered Ammonite territory
20:1 In the spring, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down. 20:2 David took the crown from the head of their king and wore
The Lord Sends a Plague against Israel 21:1 An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. 21:2 David told Joab and the leaders of the army, “Go, count the number of warriors from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we
22:1 David then said, “This is the place where the temple of the LORD God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.” David Orders a Temple to Be Built 22:2 David ordered the resident foreigners in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to
David Organizes the Levites 23:1 When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 23:2 David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. 23:3 The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. 23:4 David
David Organizes the Priests 24:1 The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows: The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24:2 Nadab and Abihu died before their father did; they had no sons. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. 24:3 David, Zadok (a descendant of Eleazar), and Ahimelech (a descendant of Ithamar) divided them into groups to carry