1 All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said, “Look, we are your bone {etzem: physical kinship} and your flesh {basar: shared lineage}.”
2 In earlier days, when Saul was king over us, you were the one bringing out and bringing in Israel, and the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Appointer} said to you, “You will shepherd {tir’eh: guide and feed} my people Israel, and you will be a prince over Israel.”
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant {berit: binding formal promise} with them there in Hebron before the LORD {YHWH, Divine Witness}, and they anointed David as king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old {ben sheloshim: idiomatic age marker} when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years {arbaim shanah: actual reign duration}.
5 In Hebron {Hebron: David’s first capital} he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem {Yerushalayim: united capital} he reigned for thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusite {hayevusi: City Defender}, the inhabitant of the land. They said to David {dawid: Beloved Leader}, “You will not come in here; the blind and the lame will turn you back,” thinking, “David will not come in here.”
7 But David captured the fortress {metzudat: stronghold} of Zion; it is the City {Ir David: royal center} of David.
8 David said on that day, “Whoever strikes the Jebusite and reaches the water shaft {tsinor: hidden conduit}, let him strike the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul {nefesh: life-force center}.” Therefore they say, “A blind person or a lame person shall not enter the house.”
9 And David lived in the fortress {metsudah: defensive stronghold} and called it the City of David. And David built around it from the Millo {millo: earthwork rampart} and inward.
10 And David kept on growing stronger, and the LORD God of hosts {YHWH Elohei Tsevaot, Divine Warrior} was with him {imo: abiding presence}.
11 And Hiram {khiram: foreign ally} king of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar wood, craftsmen of wood, and craftsmen of stone for walls, and they built a house {bayit: royal residence} for David.
12 And David knew that the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Establishing Monarch} had established him as king over Israel and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people {ammo: covenant community} Israel.
13 And David took more concubines {pilagshim: secondary wives} and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron, and more sons {banim: male offspring} and daughters were born to David.
14 And these are the names {shemot: designations} of the children {hayillodim: offspring} born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon.
15 Yibhar, Elishua {elishua: God Is Salvation}, Nepheg, and Yaphia {yaphia: Shining Forth}.
16 And Elishama, and Elyada {elyada: God knows}, and Eliphelet {eliphelet: God delivers}.
17 When the Philistines {pelishtim: coastal invaders} heard that David had been anointed {mashkhu: ceremonially designated} king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. David heard and went down to the stronghold.
18 And the Philistines came and spread out {vayinatsheu: strategic deployment} in the Valley of Rephaim {repa’im: region associated with ancient giants}.
19 And David inquired {sha'al: to seek guidance} of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Guide}, saying, “Shall I go up to the Philistines? Will You give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”
20 And David came to Baal-Perazim, and he struck them there. Then he said, “The LORD {YHWH, Divine Victor} has broken out against my enemies before me like the breaking forth of waters {mayim: forces of nature}.” Therefore he called that place Baal-Perazim.
21 And they abandoned their idols {atzabeihem: images shaped as gods} there, and David and his men carried them away {vayissa’em: took by carrying}.
22 And once again the Philistines {Pelishtim: traditional foes} went up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim {Refaʾim: giants’ region}.
23 And David inquired of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Advisor}, and He said, “You shall not go up. Instead, circle around behind them and come to them opposite the balsam trees {b’ka’īm: balsam trees}.”
24 And it shall be that when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees {bə-ḵā-’îm: distinctive woodland}, then you shall act decisively, for then the LORD {YHWH, Deliverer in Battle} has gone out before you to strike in the camp of the Philistines.
25 And David did so, just as the LORD {YHWH, Divine Commander} had commanded him, and David struck down the Philistines {pelishtim: enemy forces} from Geba to Gezer.