The Lord also will deliver the homes ¹  of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship ²  of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah.

But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem ¹  to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain.

The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser ¹  from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, ²  along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went ³  and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ⁴ 

Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ¹  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ²  and its king. ³  He also heard how ⁴  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.

So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon:

So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon. ¹ 

They did as ordered; ¹  they brought the five kings ²  out of the cave to him – the kings of Jerusalem, ³  Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

It then went up the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites on the south (that is, Jerusalem), ¹  going up to the top of the hill opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of the Rephaites to the north.

The men of Judah were unable to conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. ¹  The Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this very day. ² 

Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up ¹  food scraps ²  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” ³  They brought him to Jerusalem, ⁴  where he died.

Then the king and his men advanced to Jerusalem ¹  against the Jebusites who lived in the land. The Jebusites ²  said to David, “You cannot invade this place! Even the blind and the lame will turn you back, saying, ‘David cannot invade this place!’”

He removed ¹  the people who were in it and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, putting them to work at the brick kiln. This was his policy ²  with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. ³ 

When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman replied to them, “They crossed over the stream.” Absalom’s men ¹  searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. ² 

Then David went to his palace ¹  in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. ²  Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. ³  They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. Joab ¹  blew the trumpet, and his men ²  dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. ³  Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

When the angel ¹  extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment. ²  He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!” ³  (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David ¹  until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. ² 

Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. ¹  He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, ²  and held a feast for all his servants.

¹ Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem ²  Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). ³ 

Here are the details concerning the work crews ¹  King Solomon conscripted ²  to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, ³  and the cities of ⁴  Hazor, ⁵  Megiddo, ⁶  and Gezer.