<p class="bodytext">But David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the city of David).

<p class="bodytext">So David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. David built all around it, from the terrace inwards.

So David was no longer willing to bring the ark of the <sc>Lordsc> to be with him in the City of David. David left it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

<p class="bodytext">When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he<n id="1" /> realized that the child was dead. So David asked his servants, &#8220;Is the child dead?&#8221; They replied, &#8220;Yes, he&#8217;s dead.&#8221;

David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">When David got up the next morning, the <sc>Lordsc> had already spoken<n id="1" /> to Gad the prophet, David&#8217;s seer:

When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah<n id="1" /> from the Philistines.<n id="2" />

David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David&#8217;s subjects and brought tribute. The <sc>Lordsc> protected<n id="1" /> David wherever he campaigned.<n id="2" />

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground.<n id="1" /> David said, &#8220;Mephibosheth?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;Yes, at your service.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">So David sent a message to Joab that said, &#8220;Send me Uriah the Hittite.&#8221; So Joab sent Uriah to David.

<p class="bodytext">Then David exclaimed to Nathan, &#8220;I have sinned against the <sc>Lordsc>!&#8221; Nathan replied to David, &#8220;Yes, and the <sc>Lordsc> has forgiven<n id="1" /> your sin. You are not going to die.

Then David prayed to<n id="1" /> God for the child and fasted.<n id="2" /> He would even<n id="3" /> go and spend the night lying on the ground.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now David&#8217;s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. In the course of time David&#8217;s son Amnon fell madly in love with her.<n id="1" />

He threw stones at David and all of King David&#8217;s servants, as well as all the people and the soldiers who were on his right and on his left.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers<n id="1" /> and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted.

<t /><p class="bodytext">These are the final words of David:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The oracle of David son of Jesse,p> <p class="poetry">the oracle of the man raised up asp> <p class="poetry">the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Israel&#8217;s beloved<n id="2" /> singer of songs:p>

David was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned for forty years.

David&#8217;s power grew steadily, for the <sc>Lordsc> God<n id="1" /> who commands armies<n id="2" /> was with him.<n id="3" />p>

The Philistines<n id="1" /> abandoned their idols<n id="2" /> there, and David and his men picked them up.p>