ARKCODEX
2 Samuel
Ch. 18
Absalom Is Defeated and Killed
1King David brought all his men together, divided them into units of a thousand and of a hundred, and placed officers in command of them.
2Then he sent them out in three groups, with Joab and Joab's brother Abishai and Ittai from Gath, each in command of a group. And the king said to his men, “I will go with you myself.”
3“You mustn't go with us,” they answered. “It won't make any difference to the enemy if the rest of us turn and run, or even if half of us are killed; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It will be better if you stay here in the city and send us help.”
4“I will do whatever you think best,” the king answered. Then he stood by the side of the gate as his men marched out in units of a thousand and of a hundred.
5He gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.” And all the troops heard David give this command to his officers.
6David's army went out into the countryside and fought the Israelites in Ephraim Forest.
7The Israelites were defeated by David's men; it was a terrible defeat, with twenty thousand men killed that day.
8The fighting spread over the countryside, and more men died in the forest than were killed in battle.
9Suddenly Absalom met some of David's men. Absalom was riding a mule, and as it went under a large oak tree, Absalom's head got caught in the branches. The mule ran on and Absalom was left hanging in midair.
10One of David's men saw him and reported to Joab, “Sir, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
11Joab answered, “If you saw him, why didn't you kill him on the spot? I myself would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
12But the man answered, “Even if you gave me a thousand pieces of silver, I wouldn't lift a finger against the king's son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.’
13But if I had disobeyed the king and killed Absalom, the king would have heard about it—he hears about everything—and you would not have defended me.”
14“I'm not going to waste any more time with you,” Joab said. He took three spears and plunged them into Absalom's chest while he was still alive, hanging in the oak tree.
15Then ten of Joab's soldiers closed in on Absalom and finished killing him.
16Joab had the trumpet blown to stop the fighting, and his troops came back from pursuing the Israelites.
17They took Absalom's body, threw it into a deep pit in the forest, and covered it with a huge pile of stones. All the Israelites fled to their own hometowns.
18During his lifetime Absalom had built a monument for himself in King's Valley, because he had no son to keep his name alive. So he named it after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom's Monument.
David Is Told of Absalom's Death
19Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said to Joab, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemies.”
20“No,” Joab said, “today you will not take any good news. Some other day you may do so, but not today, for the king's son is dead.”
21Then he said to his Ethiopian slave, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” The slave bowed and ran off.
22Ahimaaz insisted, “I don't care what happens; please let me take the news also.” “Why do you want to do it, my son?” Joab asked. “You will get no reward for it.”
23“Whatever happens,” Ahimaaz said again, “I want to go.” “Then go,” Joab said. So Ahimaaz ran off down the road through the Jordan Valley, and soon he passed the slave.
24David was sitting in the space between the inner and outer gates of the city. The lookout went up to the top of the wall and stood on the roof of the gateway; he looked out and saw a man running alone.
25He called down and told the king, and the king said, “If he is alone, he is bringing good news.” The runner kept coming closer.
26Then the lookout saw another man running alone, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look! There's another man running!” The king answered, “This one also is bringing good news.”
27The lookout said, “I can see that the first man runs like Ahimaaz.” “He's a good man,” the king said, “and he is bringing good news.”
28Ahimaaz called out a greeting to the king, threw himself down to the ground before him, and said, “Praise the Lord your God, who has given you victory over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty!”
29“Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked. Ahimaaz answered, “Sir, when your officer Joab sent me, I saw a great commotion, but I couldn't tell what it was.”
30“Stand over there,” the king told him; and he went over and stood there.
31Then the Ethiopian slave arrived and said to the king, “I have good news for Your Majesty! Today the Lord has given you victory over all who rebelled against you!”
32“Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked. The slave answered, “I wish that what has happened to him would happen to all your enemies, sir, and to all who rebel against you.”
33The king was overcome with grief. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he cried, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son! If only I had died in your place, my son! Absalom, my son!”
1 Chronicles
Ch. 23
1When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.
The Work of the Levites
2King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites.
3He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was thirty-eight thousand.
4The king assigned twenty-four thousand to administer the work of the Temple, six thousand to keep records and decide disputes,
5four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.
6David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei.
8Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel,
9who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.)
10-11Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.
12Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13His oldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects forever, to burn incense in the worship of the Lord, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name.
14But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.)
15Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
16The leader among Gershom's sons was Shebuel.
17Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
18Kohath's second son, Izhar, had a son, Shelomith, the head of the clan.
19Kohath's third son, Hebron, had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.
20Kohath's fourth son, Uzziel, had two sons, Micah and Isshiah.
21Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. Mahli also had two sons, Eleazar and Kish,
22but Eleazar died without having any sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.
23Merari's second son, Mushi, had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
24These were the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, every one of them registered by name. Each of his descendants, twenty years of age or older, had a share in the work of the Lord's Temple.
25David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given peace to his people, and he himself will live in Jerusalem forever.
26So there is no longer any need for the Levites to carry the Tent of the Lord's presence and all the equipment used in worship.”
27On the basis of David's final instructions all Levites were registered for service when they reached the age of twenty,
28and were assigned the following duties: to help the priests descended from Aaron with the Temple worship, to take care of its courtyards and its rooms, and to keep undefiled everything that is sacred;
29to be responsible for the bread offered to God, the flour used in offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the baked offerings, and the flour mixed with olive oil; to weigh and measure the Temple offerings;
30and to praise and glorify the Lord every morning and every evening
31and whenever offerings to the Lord are burned on the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and other festivals. Rules were made specifying the number of Levites assigned to do this work each time. The Levites were assigned the duty of worshiping the Lord for all time.
32They were given the responsibility of taking care of the Tent of the Lord's presence and the Temple, and of assisting their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, in the Temple worship.
Psalms
Ch. 37
The Destiny of the Wicked and of the Good
1Don't be worried on account of the wicked; don't be jealous of those who do wrong.
2They will soon disappear like grass that dries up; they will die like plants that wither.
3Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and be safe.
4Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire.
5Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him, and he will help you;
6he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.
7Be patient and wait for the Lord to act; don't be worried about those who prosper or those who succeed in their evil plans.
8Don't give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble.
9Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land, but the wicked will be driven out.
10Soon the wicked will disappear; you may look for them, but you won't find them;
11but the humble will possess the land and enjoy prosperity and peace.
12The wicked plot against good people and glare at them with hate.
13But the Lord laughs at wicked people, because he knows they will soon be destroyed.
14The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows to kill the poor and needy, to slaughter those who do what is right;
15but they will be killed by their own swords, and their bows will be smashed.
16The little that a good person owns is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked,
17because the Lord will take away the strength of the wicked, but protect those who are good.
18The Lord takes care of those who obey him, and the land will be theirs forever.
19They will not suffer when times are bad; they will have enough in time of famine.
20But the wicked will die; the enemies of the Lord will vanish like wild flowers; they will disappear like smoke.
21The wicked borrow and never pay back, but good people are generous with their gifts.
22Those who are blessed by the Lord will possess the land, but those who are cursed by him will be driven out.
23The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him.
24If they fall, they will not stay down, because the Lord will help them up.
25I am old now; I have lived a long time, but I have never seen good people abandoned by the Lord or their children begging for food.
26At all times they give freely and lend to others, and their children are a blessing.
27Turn away from evil and do good, and your descendants will always live in the land;
28for the Lord loves what is right and does not abandon his faithful people. He protects them forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be driven out.
29The righteous will possess the land and live in it forever.
30The words of good people are wise, and they are always fair.
31They keep the law of their God in their hearts and never depart from it.
32Wicked people watch good people and try to kill them;
33but the Lord will not abandon them to their enemy's power or let them be condemned when they are on trial.
34Put your hope in the Lord and obey his commands; he will honor you by giving you the land, and you will see the wicked driven out.
35I once knew someone wicked who was a tyrant; he towered over everyone like a cedar of Lebanon;
36but later I passed by, and he wasn't there; I looked for him, but couldn't find him.
37Notice good people, observe the righteous; peaceful people have descendants,
38but sinners are completely destroyed, and their descendants are wiped out.
39The Lord saves the righteous and protects them in times of trouble.
40He helps them and rescues them; he saves them from the wicked, because they go to him for protection.