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King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD kept him safe from all his enemies.
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Then the king said to the prophet Nathan, "Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!"
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Nathan answered, "Do whatever you have in mind, because the LORD is with you."
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But that night the LORD said to Nathan,
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"Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, 'You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in.
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From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have traveled around living in a tent.
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In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.'
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"So tell my servant David that I, the LORD Almighty, say to him, 'I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel.
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I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world.
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I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to keep you safe from all your enemies and to give you descendants.
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When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong.
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He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever.
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I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him as a father punishes his son.
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But I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king.
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You will always have descendants, and I will make your kingdom last forever. Your dynasty will never end.' "
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Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.
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Then King David went into the Tent of the LORD's presence, sat down and prayed, "Sovereign LORD, I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, nor is my family.
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Yet now you are doing even more, Sovereign LORD; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come. And you let a man see this, Sovereign LORD!
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What more can I say to you! You know me, your servant.
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It was your will and purpose to do this; you have done all these great things in order to instruct me.
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How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God.
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There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them have spread your fame throughout the world. You drove out other nations and their gods as your people advanced, the people whom you set free from Egypt to be your own.
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You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.
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"And now, LORD God, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would.
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Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, 'The LORD Almighty is God over Israel.' And you will preserve my dynasty for all time.
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LORD Almighty, God of Israel! I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings.
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"And now, Sovereign LORD, you are God; you always keep your promises, and you have made this wonderful promise to me.
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I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Sovereign LORD, have promised this, and your blessing will rest on my descendants forever."
1
Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again, defeated them, and ended their control over the land.
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Then he defeated the Moabites. He made the prisoners lie down on the ground and put two out of every three of them to death. So the Moabites became his subjects and paid taxes to him.
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Then he defeated the king of the Syrian state of Zobah, Hadadezer son of Rehob, as Hadadezer was on his way to restore his control over the territory by the upper Euphrates River.
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David captured seventeen hundred of his cavalry and twenty thousand of his foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.
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When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men.
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Then he set up military camps in their territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The LORD made David victorious everywhere.
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David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officials and took them to Jerusalem.
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He also took a great quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, cities ruled by Hadadezer.
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King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated all of Hadadezer's army.
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So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram took David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze.
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King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he had conquered---
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Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek---as well as part of the loot he had taken from Hadadezer.
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David became even more famous when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley.
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He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became his subjects. The LORD made David victorious everywhere.
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David ruled over all of Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly.
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Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, was the commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records;
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Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the court secretary;
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Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and David's sons were priests.
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One day David asked, "Is there anyone left of Saul's family? If there is, I would like to show him kindness for Jonathan's sake."
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There was a servant of Saul's family named Ziba, and he was told to go to David. "Are you Ziba?" the king asked. "At your service, sir," he answered.
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The king asked him, "Is there anyone left of Saul's family to whom I can show loyalty and kindness, as I promised God I would?" Ziba answered, "There is still one of Jonathan's sons. He is crippled."
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"Where is he?" the king asked. "At the home of Machir son of Ammiel in Lodebar," Ziba answered.
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So King David sent for him.
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When Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, arrived, he bowed down before David in respect. David said, "Mephibosheth," and he answered, "At your service, sir."
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"Don't be afraid," David replied. "I will be kind to you for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will give you back all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always be welcome at my table."
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Mephibosheth bowed again and said, "I am no better than a dead dog, sir! Why should you be so good to me?"
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Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said, "I am giving Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
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You, your sons, and your servants will farm the land for your master Saul's family and bring in the harvest, to provide food for them. But Mephibosheth himself will always be a guest at my table." (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
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Ziba answered, "I will do everything Your Majesty commands." So Mephibosheth ate at the king's table, just like one of the king's sons.
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Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. All the members of Ziba's family became servants of Mephibosheth.
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So Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem, eating all his meals at the king's table.
