The Philistines again raided the valley.

So David again asked God what he should do. ¹  This time ²  God told him, “Don’t march up after them; circle around them and come against them in front of the trees. ³ 

I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle ¹  them there; they will live there and not be disturbed ²  anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning ³ 

Messengers ¹  came and told David what had happened to the men, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ²  until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”

Let’s move the ark of our God back here, ¹  for we did not seek his will ²  throughout Saul’s reign.” ³ 

There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, ¹  whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom. ² 

In a battle in Gath ¹  there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot – twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha.

The first to resettle on their property and in their cities were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants. ¹ 

The Lord ordered the messenger ¹  to put his sword back into its sheath.

He had sexual relations with his wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim ¹  named him Beriah because tragedy had come to his family. ² 

Some of them were in charge of the articles used by those who served; they counted them when they brought them in and when they brought them out. ¹ 

The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 7,000 ¹  Aramean charioteers and 40,000 infantrymen; he also killed Shophach ²  the commanding general.

They held a feast ¹  before the Lord that day and celebrated. ²  Then they designated Solomon, David’s son, as king a second time; ³  before the Lord they anointed him as ruler and Zadok as priest.

three ¹  years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, ²  or three days being struck down by the Lord, during which a plague will invade the land and the Lord’s messenger will destroy throughout Israel’s territory.’ ³  Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me.”