Key terms · the divine name (YHWH)
2 Samuel
יהוה Hebrew · Strong’s H3068
Every sentence 146 uses
Each sentence in Balanced English, with the word marked. The verse link opens it in the reader.
They mourned and wept and went without food until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, since they had fallen by the sword.
David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”
David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
Some time after this, David inquired of the LORD: “Shall I go up into any of the towns of Judah?” The LORD told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” And he answered, “To Hebron.”
David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to say to them, “May the LORD bless you, because you showed this faithful love to your lord Saul by burying him.
Now may the LORD show you faithful love and truth. I too will treat you well, because you have done this.
May God deal with me, Abner, ever so severely if I fail to carry out for David what the LORD promised him on oath,
Now do it! For the LORD has said of David, ‘Through my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and of all their enemies.’”
Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “Before the LORD, I and my kingdom are innocent of the blood of Abner son of Ner for all time.
Today I am weak, even though I am anointed king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me. May the LORD repay the one who does evil as his evil deserves!”
They brought Ish-bosheth’s head to David at Hebron and told the king, “Look, here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, the one who sought your life. This day the LORD has given my lord the king vengeance on Saul and his descendants.”
David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has rescued my life from every trouble,
In times past, even while Saul reigned over us, you were the one who led Israel out to battle and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, ‘You are the one who will shepherd my people Israel; you will become ruler over Israel.’”
When all the elders of Israel had come to the king in Hebron, King David made a covenant with them there in the presence of the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.
David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of Armies, was with him.
Then David knew that the LORD had made him secure as king over Israel, and had raised his kingdom high for the sake of his people Israel.
So David inquired of the LORD, “Am I to go up against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The LORD answered David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”
So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there. He said, “The LORD has burst through my enemies ahead of me, like water breaking through.” That is why that place was named Baal-perazim.
When David inquired of the LORD, he answered, “Do not go straight up. Go around to their rear and attack them opposite the balsam trees.
The moment you hear the sound of marching along the tops of the balsam trees, move fast, for that means the LORD has gone out ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.”
David did exactly what the LORD had commanded him, and he struck the Philistines down all the way from Geba to Gezer.
Then David and all the people with him set out from Baale-judah to bring the ark of God up from there, the ark which is called by the name, the name of the LORD of Armies, who sits enthroned on the cherubim above it.
David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with every kind of instrument made of cypress wood, with lyres, harps, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.
Then the anger of the LORD blazed against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his error. He died there beside the ark of God.
David was angry because the LORD had burst out against Uzzah, and he named that place Perez-uzzah, a name it still has to this day.
David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”
So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David to be with him. Instead he turned aside and took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
The ark of the LORD stayed three months at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, and the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and his whole household.
King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with rejoicing.
When those carrying the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, David sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and he was wearing a linen ephod.
So David and the whole house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with loud shouts of joy and the sound of the ram’s horn.
As the ark of the LORD was coming into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked down from the window. She saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and in her heart she despised him.
They carried the ark of the LORD in and set it in its place within the tent David had pitched for it. David then offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing on the people in the name of the LORD of Armies.
David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD that I danced, before the one who chose me over your father and over all his family and appointed me ruler over Israel, the people of the LORD. I will celebrate before the LORD.
When the king was settled in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies on every side,
Nathan said to the king, “Go and do all that you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.”
But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘The LORD says this: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?
Now then, say this to my servant David: ‘The LORD of Armies says this: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel.
ever since the time I set judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. And the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you.
Then King David went in and sat down before the LORD and said, “Lord GOD, who am I, and what is my house, that you have brought me as far as this?
You established your people Israel as your own people forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.
And now, LORD God, the word you have spoken about your servant and about his house, make it stand forever, and do as you have said.
Then your name will be great forever, and people will say, ‘The LORD of Armies is God over Israel!’ And your servant David’s house will stand firm before you.
For you, LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant: ‘I will build a house for you.’ That is why your servant has found the courage to pray this prayer to you.
Then David stationed garrisons in Aram of Damascus. The Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
King David dedicated these also to the LORD, as he had done with the silver and gold taken from all the nations he had brought under his control:
He stationed garrisons in Edom, throughout all Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
Be strong! Let us show courage for the sake of our people and the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what seems good to him.”
Once her time of mourning was over, David sent for her and took her into his household. She became his wife, and she gave birth to a son for him. But the thing David had done was evil in the eyes of the LORD.
The LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “In a certain city there were two men, one of them rich and the other poor.
David’s anger burned hot against the man. “As surely as the LORD lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this deserves to die!
Nathan said to David, “You are the man! The LORD, the God of Israel, says this: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul’s power.
Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in my sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your wife. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
The LORD says this: ‘I am about to raise up disaster against you from within your own household. Before your eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan said to David, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You will not die.
But because by doing this you have given the enemies of the LORD every reason to scorn him, the son who has been born to you will surely die.”
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child whom Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the boy fell gravely ill.
Then David got up from the ground. He washed, put oil on himself and changed his clothes. He entered the house of the LORD and bowed in worship. After that he went to his own house and asked for food, and when they set it before him, he ate.
He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and slept with her, and she gave birth to a son, and she named him Solomon. The LORD loved him,
and he sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah because of the LORD.
She said, “Please let the king call on the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not add to the destruction, and my son will not be destroyed.” He said, “As surely as the LORD lives, not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
Your servant thought, ‘Let what my lord the king says bring me rest, since my lord the king is like an angel of God in telling good from evil.’ May the LORD your God be with you!”
When forty years had come to an end, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron and fulfill the vow I made to the LORD.
For your servant made a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram. I said, ‘If the LORD really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD.’”
But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and by the life of my lord the king, in whatever place my lord the king may be, whether it means death or life, there your servant will be.”
Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the sight of the LORD, he will bring me home again and let me see the ark and his dwelling place once more.
Then David was told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David prayed, “LORD, please turn the advice of Ahithophel into foolishness.”
The LORD has paid you back for all the blood of Saul’s family, whose throne you took. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. And see, disaster has caught you, because you are a man of blood!”
But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse like this, because the LORD has told him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then can ask, ‘Why have you done this?’”
David said to Abishai and to all his officials, “Look, my own son, who came from my own body, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjaminite! Leave him alone and let him curse, because the LORD has told him to.
Perhaps the LORD will look on my distress and repay me with good in place of his cursing today.”
Hushai answered Absalom, “No! I will belong to the one whom the LORD, this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, and I will stay with him.
Then Absalom and all the men of Israel declared, “Hushai the Archite gives better advice than Ahithophel.” For the LORD had decreed that Ahithophel’s good advice would be defeated, so that the LORD could bring disaster on Absalom.
Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has vindicated him by rescuing him from his enemies.”
Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has handed over the men who raised their hands against my lord the king!”
Just then the Cushite arrived, and he said, “Good news for my lord the king! Today the LORD has vindicated you by rescuing you from all who rose up against you.”
So now get up, go out and speak to the hearts of your servants. By the LORD I swear: unless you go out, not a single man will spend this night with you. That would be a worse disaster for you than any that has come on you since you were young.”
Abishai son of Zeruiah spoke up and said, “Should not Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the LORD’s anointed!”
I am one of the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You are out to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why should you swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?”
In the days of David there was a famine for three years in a row, so David sought the presence of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
David asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement, so that you will bless the inheritance of the LORD?”
let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the one the LORD chose.” The king said, “I will hand them over.”
But the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD that bound David and Saul’s son Jonathan to each other.
He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who impaled them on the mountain before the LORD. All seven of them died together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
David sang the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Saul.
He said: “The LORD is my cliff, my stronghold, the one who sets me free,
I call on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and from my enemies I am rescued.
When I was hard pressed I called on the LORD; I called to my God. Out of his temple he listened to my voice; my cry reached his ears.
The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High raised his voice.
The beds of the sea came into view; the world’s foundations lay bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
They came at me on my day of disaster, but the LORD held me up.
The LORD treated me as my right conduct deserved; he rewarded me because my hands were clean.
For I have walked in the LORD’s ways and have not turned from my God to do evil.
So the LORD rewarded me for doing right, for the cleanness he could see in me.
You are my lamp, LORD; the LORD brightens my darkness.
This is God: his way is without flaw; the word of the LORD is tested and true; he is a shield for all who make him their refuge.
Is there any God but the LORD? Is there any rock but our God?
They looked for help, but no one came to save them; they looked to the LORD, but he gave them no answer.
The LORD is alive! Blessed be my rock! May God, the rock who saves me, be lifted high,
That is why I will give you thanks, LORD, among the nations, and sing praise to your name.
The Spirit of the LORD has spoken through me; his word is on my tongue.
He stood his ground and struck down Philistines until his hand grew tired and stuck fast to his sword. On that day the LORD won a great victory, and the troops came back to him only to strip the dead.
But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD won a great victory.
So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate, and carried it back to David. But he would not drink it. Instead he poured it out as an offering to the LORD.
He said, “The LORD, far be it from me to do this! Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. Such were the deeds of the three mighty warriors.
Once more the anger of the LORD flared up against Israel, and he stirred David up against them, saying, “Go and count Israel and Judah.”
But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God make the people a hundred times as many as they are, and may my lord the king see it with his own eyes! But why does my lord the king want to do this?”
But after David had counted the people, his conscience struck him. David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, LORD, please take away your servant’s guilt, for I have acted very foolishly.”
When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer:
“Go and tell David, ‘The LORD says this: I am setting three things before you. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’”
David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the time that had been set, and 70,000 of the people died, from Dan to Beersheba.
But as the angel reached out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the disaster. He said to the angel who was bringing destruction on the people, “Enough! Now hold back your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who has done wrong. But what have these sheep done? Please let your hand be against me and my father’s family.”
That same day Gad came to David and told him, “Go up and set up an altar for the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
So David went up as Gad had told him, just as the LORD had commanded.
Araunah asked, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David answered, “To buy your threshing floor, so that I can build an altar to the LORD and the plague on the people may be stopped.”
All this, my king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”
But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you a price for it. I will not offer the LORD my God burnt offerings at no cost to myself.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for about 1 1/4 pounds of silver.
David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.