You made Israel your very own nation for all time. You, O Lord, became their God.

Give thanks to the Lord! Call on his name! Make known his accomplishments among the nations!

they wandered from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another.

Tell the nations about his splendor, tell all the nations about his miraculous deeds!

For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the Lord made the heavens.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations, ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!

And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation in the earth? Their God went to claim a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds when you drove out nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods.

But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and worshiped instead the gods of the native peoples whom God had destroyed before them.

The whole assembly agreed to do this, for the proposal seemed right to all the people.

When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord’s name.

Then all the people returned to their homes, and David went to pronounce a blessing on his family.

David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people.

He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites.

Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!”

So Joab and his men marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him.

For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem.

In the past, even when Saul was king, you were Israel’s commanding general. The Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over my people Israel.’”

He removed the city’s residents and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. This was his policy with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

David said to God, “Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed! As for these sheep – what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family, but remove the plague from your people!”

They stripped his corpse, and then carried off his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines proclaiming the news to their idols and their people.