He did what the Lord approved ¹  and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; ²  he did not deviate to the right or the left.

These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel; the second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel;

All those selected to be gatekeepers at the entrances numbered 212. Their names were recorded in the genealogical records of their settlements. David and Samuel the prophet ¹  had appointed them to their positions. ² 

David asked God, “Should I march up against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord said to him, “March up! I will hand them over to you!”

So David again asked God what he should do. ¹  This time ²  God told him, “Don’t march up after them; circle around them and come against them in front of the trees. ³ 

David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint some of their relatives as musicians; they were to play various instruments, including stringed instruments and cymbals, and to sing loudly and joyfully. ¹ 

So David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the house of Obed-Edom with celebration.

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 ¹  before God.

“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord who commands armies ¹  says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd ²  to make you a leader of my people Israel.

David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, ¹  that you should have brought me to this point?

so ¹  it may become a reality ²  and you may gain lasting fame, ³  as people say, ⁴  ‘The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel.’ ⁵  David’s dynasty ⁶  will be established before you,

King David dedicated these things to the Lord, ¹  along with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, including ²  Edom, ³  Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

Messengers ¹  came and told David what had happened to the men, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ²  until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”

When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, ¹  Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents ²  of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah, and Zobah. ³ 

The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 7,000 ¹  Aramean charioteers and 40,000 infantrymen; he also killed Shophach ²  the commanding general.

When Hadadezer’s subjects saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

David told Joab and the leaders of the army, ¹  “Go, count the number of warriors ²  from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have.” ³ 

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

“Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.”’” ¹ 

David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” ¹