The Daily Audio Bible

The men of Manasseh's tribe who joined David's army

¹⁹ Some men from Manasseh's tribe also joined David's army. That was at the time when David joined with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But David and his men were not able to help the Philistines like that. That was because the leaders of the Philistines decided to send David and his men away. They said, ‘David may turn against us and go to help his master Saul, instead. If he does that, we will all be dead!’

²⁰ So David returned to Ziklag. These men from Manasseh's tribe joined David's army at that time:

²¹ All those men were brave soldiers and they became officers in David's army. They helped David to fight against the enemy's soldiers when they attacked.

²² Every day more men came to help David. So his army became very large and powerful, like God's own army.

The men who joined David's army at Hebron

²³ This is a list of the soldiers who joined David's army at Hebron. They came with their officers and they were ready to fight. They wanted to help David become king of Israel instead of Saul. The Lord had promised that this would happen.

²⁴ From Judah's tribe, there were 6,800 men who carried shields and spears. They knew how to fight well.

²⁵ From Simeon's tribe, there were 7,100 strong men who knew how to fight well.

²⁶ From Levi's tribe, there were 4,600 men. ²⁷ Jehoiada was the leader of the men who were Aaron's descendants. He brought 3,700 men with him. ²⁸ Zadok was also in that group. He was a brave young soldier. There were also 22 officers who belonged to his clan.

²⁹ From Benjamin's tribe that Saul belonged to, there were 3,000 men. Most of those men had served Saul faithfully until that time.

³⁰ From Ephraim's tribe, there were 20,800 men who were brave soldiers. The people in their clans respected them very much.

³¹ From the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River, there were 18,000 men. Their clans had chosen those men to go and help David become their king.

³² From Issachar's tribe, there were 200 officers and their relatives who obeyed their commands. Those officers understood that this was an important time for Israel. They knew what Israel should do.

³³ From Zebulun's tribe, there were 50,000 brave men who were ready to fight. They knew how to use many different kinds of weapons. They were completely faithful to David.

³⁴ From Naphtali's tribe, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 men who carried shields and spears.

³⁵ From Dan's tribe, there were 28,600 men who were ready for war.

³⁶ From Asher's tribe there were 40,000 soldiers who were ready for war.

³⁷ From the east side of the Jordan River, there were 120,000 soldiers who knew how to use many different kinds of weapons. Those men belonged to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the other half tribe of Manasseh.

³⁸ All those men were soldiers who were ready to fight in war. They came to David in Hebron because they wanted to make him king to rule all Israel. All the other Israelites also agreed that David should become king. ³⁹ The men stayed there with David for three days. Their relatives had prepared a lot of food for them. So they enjoyed a big feast together. ⁴⁰ People also came from places as far away as Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali. They brought food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. So there was plenty of flour to make bread, and lots of figs, raisins, wine, olive oil, cows and sheep. All the Israelites had a very happy party!

David starts to bring the Covenant Box to Jerusalem

13 David spoke with the officers of his army. Some of them were the leaders of 1,000 men. Other officers were the leaders of 100 men. ² Then David said to all the Israelites who were present, ‘I think that we should send a message to our relatives in all the regions of Israel. That should include the priests and the Levites in the towns where they live. We should ask all those people to meet with us here. We will do it if you agree that it is a good idea, and if the Lord our God wants us to do it. ³ We should bring back the Covenant Box of our God. While Saul was king, we did not use it to ask God about things.’

⁴ All the people there agreed that this was a good idea. They realized that it was the right thing to do.

⁵ So David brought together all the Israelites. They came from everywhere in Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt, and as far as Lebo-Hamath. They came to bring God's Covenant Box back from Kiriath-Jearim.^{[a] 6} David and all the Israelites went to Baalah, a town in Judah. (Baalah is also called Kiriath-Jearim.) They went to bring the Covenant Box of God from there to Jerusalem. The Israelites called it by the name of the Lord. He sits as King between the two cherubs that are on the top of the Covenant Box.

⁷ The people put God's Covenant Box on a new cart. They took it out of Abinadab's house. Uzzah and Ahio were leading the cart. ⁸ David and all the Israelites were singing and dancing with all their strength to praise God. They made music with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ They reached the place of Kidon's threshing floor. There the oxen that were pulling the cart almost fell. So Uzzah reached out to hold the Covenant Box to stop it falling. ¹⁰ The Lord was very angry with Uzzah because he had touched the Covenant Box. He knocked Uzzah down to the ground. Uzzah died there, beside God's Covenant Box.^[b]

¹¹ David was angry because the Lord had punished Uzzah. So he called that place ‘Perez Uzzah’. That is still its name today.^[c]

¹² So David now became afraid of God. He said, ‘God's Covenant Box is too holy to take with me.’ ¹³ So he did not take the Covenant Box to the City of David to be with him there. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom, who came from Gath. ¹⁴ God's Covenant Box stayed in the home of Obed-Edom's family for three months. During that time, the Lord blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything that he had.

David becomes famous

14 Then Hiram, king of Tyre, sent some of his men to David. They brought wood from Lebanon's cedar trees. Men who could work with stone and with wood also came. They built a palace for David. ² David realized that the Lord had made him strong as king over Israel. He knew that God had made his kingdom great, to help his people, the Israelites.

³ When David lived in Jerusalem, he married more wives. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴ These are the names of David's children who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Beeliada and Eliphelet.

David fights the Philistines

⁸ The Philistines heard the news that David had now become king over all Israel. So their whole army went to look for him to catch him. When David heard about this, he went out to attack them. ⁹ The Philistine soldiers arrived at Rephaim valley. They attacked the people there. ¹⁰ David asked God, ‘Should I go and attack the Philistines? Will you put them under my power?’

The Lord answered him, ‘Yes, go and attack the Philistines. I will help you to win against them.’

¹¹ So David and his men went to Baal Perazim. There they won the fight against the Philistines in that place. David said, ‘God has helped me to sweep away my enemy like a flood of water.’ So they called that place Baal Perazim. ¹² The Philistines did not take their idols with them when they ran away. David told his men to destroy the idols in a fire.

¹³ Once again, the Philistines attacked the people who lived in the valley. ¹⁴ So David again asked God what he should do. This time God told him, ‘Do not march straight towards them. Instead, go round behind them. Then attack them from the other side, where the poplar trees are. ¹⁵ When you hear a noise in the tops of the trees like marching men, go out to attack them. Then you will know that God has gone in front of you. He will knock down the Philistine army for you.’ ¹⁶ So David did as God had commanded him to do. His men chased the Philistine army all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁷ So David became famous in every country. The Lord caused the people of every nation to be afraid of David.

Paul says ‘Hello’

1 This letter is from me, Paul. I am a servant of Christ Jesus. God chose me to be his apostle. He sent me to tell his good news to people. ² God promised this good news long ago, before it became true. His prophets wrote about it in the Bible. ^3-4 This good news is about God's Son, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus was born as a human baby from King David's family.^[a] But after Jesus died on the cross, God's Holy Spirit raised him to make him alive again. In that way God showed clearly that Jesus was his powerful Son. ⁵ Because of Jesus Christ, God has been very kind to us. He has chosen me to serve him as an apostle. He sent me to tell his message to people from all countries. As a result they would know that Jesus Christ is great. They would trust him and obey him. ⁶ You Christians in Rome are also among those people! God has chosen you to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ So I am writing to all you Christians who are in Rome. God loves you and he has chosen you to be his own people.

I pray that God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your minds.

Paul wants to visit Rome

⁸ First, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, I thank my God for all of you. Everywhere in the world, people are talking about how you trust in Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is the one that I serve with all my spirit. I tell people the message about his Son, which is good news. God himself knows that I pray for you all the time. ¹⁰ Every time that I pray for you, I ask God for a chance that I might visit you soon. I pray that he will make it possible if that is what he wants.

¹¹ I want very much to come and see you. Then I can give some gift from God's Spirit to you. That will help you to be strong as you serve God. ¹² We can help each other to be strong like that, because both you and I trust Christ. ¹³ My Christian friends, I want you to know that I have tried often to visit you. But until now, something has always stopped me. I want to help you to serve God well, in the way that I have already helped other Gentiles.

¹⁴ Because God has been kind to me, I must tell his message to all people. I must tell his good news to people who have learned many things, and to those who have never been to school. I must tell it to people who are wise as well as to those who are not very clever. ¹⁵ Because of that, I want very much to tell God's good news also to you people who live in Rome.^[b]

¹⁶ I am not ashamed to tell people the good news. God uses that good news to show his great power. He uses it to save all people who believe in Jesus Christ. First, God saves all Jews who are believers. And he also saves all Gentiles who are believers. ¹⁷ The good news explains how God accepts people as right with himself. He does this when they believe in Christ. It is only because of their faith. Nothing else. This is what was written in the Bible long ago: