And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou
wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand
might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it
may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of
Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found
there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their
rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks.
The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of
Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to
shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven
hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of
Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he
carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half
tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara,
and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt
offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the
work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel,
according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai,
and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of
Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose
number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six
hundred.
And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of
Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites,
were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the
tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were
keepers of the entry.
And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing:
shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in
jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it.
Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three
mightiest.
And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits
high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and
he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the
Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.
And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the
hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the
battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like
the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;
And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto
them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be
knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing
there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon,
and rebuke it.
Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains,
and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse:
peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God
helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the
band.
And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the
Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the
lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He
will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads.
Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and
Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on
mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of
raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there
was joy in Israel.
And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem
good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad
unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of
Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in
their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:
He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to enquire of his
welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against
Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with
him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of
Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent
messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of
David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort
him.
And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time
that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and
wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged
Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and
destroyed it.
Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed
before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh
thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence,
in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the
coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall
bring again to him that sent me.
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he
was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and
said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand.
And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the
Jebusite.
And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD
stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his
hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of
Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people
to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed;
but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray
thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on
thy people, that they should be plagued.
And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house
that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of
fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make
preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the
LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand
talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in
abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add
thereto.
Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God;
arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring
the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into
the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers;
even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names
by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the
LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.
And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than
of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided. Among the sons of
Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers,
and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their
fathers.
And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites,
wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and
Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of
the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for
Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.
Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the
service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who
should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the
number of the workmen according to their service was:
Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the
Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the
fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there
were found among them mighty men of valour at Jazer of Gilead.
Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief
fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers
that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and
went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of
every course were twenty and four thousand.
And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the
tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king
by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the
hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of
the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men,
and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.
Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of
my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to
be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and
among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all
Israel:
Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the
LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the
commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land,
and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and
serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD
searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou
forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their
lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps
thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the
candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of
every candlestick.
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good
courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even
my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee,
until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of
the LORD.
And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even
they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and
there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing
skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the
people will be wholly at thy commandment.
Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the
gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of
silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of
iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set,
glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious
stones, and marble stones in abundance.
I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast
pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart
I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with
joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.
And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt
offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand
bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink
offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel: