saying, “Don’t touch my anointed ones! Don’t harm my prophets!”

Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy! Let the nations say, ‘The Lord reigns!’

saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”

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

What more can David say to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition.

Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Pick one of these:

“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.”’”

“Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must not build me a house in which to live.

Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, ‘Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?’”’

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

Say this prayer: “Deliver us, O God who delivers us! Gather us! Rescue us from the nations! Then we will give thanks to your holy name, and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.”

Some men from Manasseh joined David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (But in the end they did not help the Philistines because, after taking counsel, the Philistine lords sent David away, saying: “It would be disastrous for us if he deserts to his master Saul.”)

So now, in the sight of all Israel, the Lord’s assembly, and in the hearing of our God, I say this: Carefully observe all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may possess this good land and may leave it as a permanent inheritance for your children after you.

The Lord told Gad, David’s prophet,

That night God told Nathan the prophet,

David ordered all the officials of Israel to support his son Solomon.

Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, for she said, “I experienced pain when I gave birth to him.”

So the Lord’s messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

But the Lord said to me: ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me.

David was afraid of God that day and said, “How will I ever be able to bring the ark of God up here?”