2 Samuel 5

Then the leaders of all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron. They told him, “Listen, {even though we belong to different tribes,} we are all Israelites.

Previously, even though Saul was our king, you were the one who led our soldiers into battle. God promised you, ‘You will be the leader of the Israelite people, who belong to me. You will be their king.’” \*

Then, with God as their witness, all the leaders of the people of Israel came and made an agreement with David at Hebron that he would be their king. They poured olive oil on his head to show that he was now the king of the Israelites.

David was 30 years old when he first became the king of Judah. He was a king for a total of 40 years.

In Hebron, he had ruled over the tribe of Judah for seven and a half years. He would then rule over all the people of Judah and Israel for 33 more years in Jerusalem. \*

Once he became king, David led his soldiers to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites who lived there. The Jebusites believed that David’s army would never be able to capture their fortress in the city. So they called out mockingly to David, “Even our soldiers who have become blind or crippled will be able to keep you from getting inside our city walls!”

But David’s army did indeed capture the fortress on Mount Zion. (Later David named it the City of David.) \*

On that day, David told his soldiers, “In order to attack the Jebusites, crawl up through the water supply tunnel into the city. That is how you will get to those crippled and blind soldiers who can supposedly defeat us. They are my enemies!” (Because David called them his enemies, people now say that no one who is blind or crippled may enter the royal palace.)

After David and his soldiers captured the fortress, David moved into it. That was when he named it the City of David. David had people build more buildings in the area between the fortress and the Millo.

David continued to become more and more powerful because God, the commander of the heavenly armies, was helping him. \*

One day Hiram, the king of the city of Tyre, sent ambassadors to {make a peace treaty with} David. Hiram agreed to provide cedar trees to make lumber, and he also agreed that he would send carpenters and stone masons to build a palace for David.

Because Hiram did these things, David realized that God truly wanted him to be the king of Israel. He also realized that God wanted him to be a powerful king so that he could protect the Israelites, since God had chosen them as his own people. \*

After David moved from Hebron to Jerusalem, he married more women as wives and secondary wives. All of those women gave birth to more sons and daughters of David.

The names of his sons whom his wives bore in Jerusalem were Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. \*

When the Philistines learned that the Israelites had made David their king, they assembled their army, and it marched toward Jerusalem to try to capture David. But David learned that they were coming, so he left the city and went to another place where he would be safe.

The Philistine army marched into the Valley of the Raphaites {southwest of Jerusalem} and set up its battle lines there. \*

David asked God, “Should I lead my soldiers to attack the Philistine army? Will you enable us to defeat them?” God replied, “Yes, attack them, because I will definitely enable your army to defeat them.”

So David led his army to where the Philistine army was, and they defeated them there. Then David said, “God enabled us to break through the enemy battle lines just as a flood of water breaks through a dam!” So David named that place Baal Perazim.

The Philistine men left their idols there, and David and his soldiers took them away. \*

But after that, the Philistine army marched into the Valley of the Raphaites again and set up its battle lines there once more.

So David asked God again what he should do. God replied, “Do not attack their battle lines directly. Tell your soldiers to go around them and attack them from the back. Come through the grove of balsam trees. \*

You will hear the sound of an army marching in the tops of the balsam trees. When you do, you will know that I am going ahead of you to enable your army to defeat the Philistine army. So when you hear that sound, attack them right away.”

So David did what God told him to do. His soldiers defeated the Philistine soldiers and chased them from the city of Geba all the way west to the city of Gezer. \*