2 Samuel
24 chapters. Pick a chapter, then pick a grade.
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Chapters
2 Samuel 4: David Does What Is Right
Saul's son Ishbosheth loses heart after Abner's death. We learn about Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who became lame as a small boy. Two men kill Ishbosheth and bring the news to David, hoping for a reward, but David punishes them for killing an innocent man.
2 Samuel 5: David Becomes King over All Israel
All the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron and anoint him king. David takes the stronghold of Zion and calls it David's city. He grows greater because the Lord is with him. When the Philistines attack, David asks God and wins.
2 Samuel 6: David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem
David sets out to bring God's ark to Jerusalem on a new cart. When Uzzah touches the ark, God strikes him, and David is afraid. The ark stays at the house of Obed-Edom, and God blesses that home. Then David brings the ark into the city with great joy and dances before the Lord.
2 Samuel 9: David's Kindness to Mephibosheth
David asks if anyone is left from Saul's house, so that he can show kindness for Jonathan's sake. He finds Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who is lame in his feet. David restores Saul's land to him and invites him to eat at the king's table always.
2 Samuel 10: Kindness Refused
David sends men to comfort the new king of Ammon after his father dies. The Ammonite princes say David's men are spies, and they shame them. War follows. Joab tells his brother to be courageous and trust the Lord, and Israel defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians.
2 Samuel 11: David Sins
While his army is at war, David stays in Jerusalem. He takes Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, to his house. To cover his sin, David has Uriah sent to the hardest battle, and Uriah dies. David marries Bathsheba, but what David had done displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 12: Nathan Tells David the Truth
God sends Nathan to David with a story about a rich man who took a poor man's only lamb. David is angry, and Nathan says, You are the man! David confesses that he has sinned against the Lord, and Nathan says the Lord has put away his sin. Trouble still follows: the baby dies. Later Solomon is born, and the Lord loves him.
2 Samuel 13: Trouble in David's Family
David's son Amnon does a terrible wrong to his half-sister Tamar. Tamar is left full of sorrow in her brother Absalom's house. David is very angry but does nothing. Two years later Absalom has Amnon killed and runs away to Geshur. David mourns for his son every day.
2 Samuel 15: Absalom Steals Hearts
Absalom sits by the city gate and steals the hearts of the people. He goes to Hebron and makes himself king. David flees Jerusalem with his household. Ittai stays loyal, Zadok carries the ark back, and David climbs the Mount of Olives weeping. He sends his friend Hushai back to work against Ahithophel's advice.
2 Samuel 16: David on the Road
Ziba brings David food and accuses Mephibosheth. Shimei, of Saul's family, curses David and throws stones. David will not let Abishai harm him, and hopes the Lord will repay good for the cursing. In Jerusalem, Hushai pretends to serve Absalom, and Ahithophel gives Absalom wicked advice.
2 Samuel 17: Good Advice Defeated
Ahithophel advises Absalom to chase David at once, but Hushai gives different advice. Absalom chooses Hushai's plan, because the Lord had ordained to defeat Ahithophel's counsel. Two young messengers hide in a well to warn David, and David crosses the Jordan. At Mahanaim friends bring food for David's hungry, weary people.
2 Samuel 18: My Son Absalom
David's army goes out to fight Absalom's army in the forest of Ephraim. David asks the captains to deal gently with Absalom for his sake. Absalom's head is caught in an oak tree, and Joab and his armor bearers kill him. When David hears, he weeps and wishes he had died instead of his son.
2 Samuel 19: The King Comes Home
David mourns for Absalom until Joab warns him that he is shaming his loyal people. David goes to the gate to meet them. The tribes bring the king back over the Jordan. David spares Shimei, hears Mephibosheth, and thanks old Barzillai. Judah and Israel argue about who loves the king more.
2 Samuel 20: A Wise Woman Saves a City
A troublemaker named Sheba leads the men of Israel away from David. David sends Amasa and then Abishai after him. Joab kills Amasa and chases Sheba to the city of Abel. A wise woman speaks with Joab from the wall and saves her city, and the revolt ends.
2 Samuel 21: Famine and Giants
There is a famine for three years, and David seeks the Lord. The Lord says it is because Saul put the Gibeonites to death, breaking Israel's oath. David makes it right with the Gibeonites. Rizpah guards her sons' bodies, and David buries the bones of Saul and Jonathan. Then God answers prayer for the land. David's men defeat four giants from Gath.
2 Samuel 22: David's Song of Praise
David sings to the Lord after God delivers him from all his enemies and from Saul. He calls the Lord his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his shield, and his lamp. God heard his cry, came to save him, and set him in a large place. David promises to give thanks to the Lord among the nations.
2 Samuel 23: David's Last Words and Mighty Men
David speaks his last words: the Spirit of the Lord spoke by him, and a righteous ruler is like the light of morning. God has made an everlasting covenant with him. Then the chapter lists David's mighty men, including three who bring him water from the well of Bethlehem. David will not drink it and pours it out to the Lord.
2 Samuel 24: David Counts the People
David orders Joab to count the fighting men of Israel and Judah. Afterward David's heart strikes him, and he confesses that he has sinned. God offers three choices, and David chooses to fall into the Lord's hands because His mercies are great. A plague comes, but the Lord stops the angel at Araunah's threshing floor. David buys the place and builds an altar there, refusing to offer the Lord what costs him nothing.