2 Samuel 2-9

Some time later, David consulted the LORD: "Shall I go down to Judah?"

"Go," the LORD replied.

"To which city shall I go?" David asked,

and the LORD replied, "To Hebron."

So David went to Hebron. He took his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the former wife of Nabal of Carmel, and his fellow warriors and their families. They all settled in Hebron and the surrounding villages. The men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David king of Judah.

David was told that Saul had been buried by the people of Jabesh in Gilead. David sent messengers to Jabesh in Gilead with the message: "May the LORD bless you for showing loyalty to your lord Saul and burying him. May the LORD be kind to you and show you loyalty. I, too, will treat you well. Be strong and courageous! Your lord Saul is dead, but now the people of Judah have anointed me king over them."

Meanwhile, Saul's son Ish-bosheth had been taken to Mahanaim by Abner, the son of Ner and commander of Saul's army, and proclaimed king of Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king of Israel, and he reigned for two years. But Judah remained loyal to David. From Hebron, David reigned over Judah for seven years and six months.

*

Abner, the son of Ner, marched with the army of Saul's son Ish-bosheth from Mahanaim to Gibeon. Joab, the son of Zeruiah, had also marched out with David's army. They met at the water reservoir in Gibeon, each on one side of the water.

Abner said to Joab, "Let the men of the front line come forward and fight each other."

"All right," Joab replied.

The fighters came forward and were counted: twelve for Benjamin and Saul's son Ish-bosheth, and twelve for David's men. Each man grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into his side, so that they died together. That is why that place in Gibeon is called Chelkat-Hassurim.

Immediately a fierce battle broke out, in which Abner and the army of Israel were defeated by David's army. The three sons of Zeruiah were also there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel could run like a wild gazelle. He pursued Abner and kept close behind him. Abner looked back and called out,

"Is that you, Asahel?"

"Yes, it is," he replied.

Then Abner said, "Leave me alone! Go get one of the soldiers and take his equipment."

But Asael kept close behind him.

Abner called out again, "Leave me alone! Don't force me to kill you, or I won't be able to look your brother Joab in the eye."

But when Asahel still would not leave him alone, Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, and it came out the other side. Asahel fell down and died on the spot. Everyone who passed by the place where Asahel had fallen stopped.

But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner until they reached the hill of Amma, opposite Giach, on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon, at sunset. The Benjaminites closed ranks behind Abner and took up position on the top of a hill.

Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword continue to devour? That will only lead to bitter misery! How long will it be before you order your men to leave their brothers alone?"

"As surely as God lives," Joab replied, "if you had not spoken, my men would have let their brothers go this morning."

Joab blew the ram's horn, and the whole army stopped. The pursuit of Israel was abandoned, and the battle was over. Abner and his army marched through the Jordan Valley all night. They crossed the Jordan and went through the Bithron Valley to Mahanaim.

After Joab had stopped pursuing Abner, he gathered his troops. Apart from Asahel, nineteen of David's soldiers had been killed. David's soldiers had killed three hundred and sixty men from Benjamin's army, Abner's men. Joab and his men took Asahel with them to bury him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Then they walked all night until they arrived in Hebron at daybreak.

The struggle between the house of David and the house of Saul lasted a long time. But as David grew stronger, the house of Saul grew weaker.

David had six sons in Hebron:

• the eldest was Amnon, a son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;
• the second was Kileab, son of Abigail, the former wife of Nabal of Carmel;
• the third was Absalom, a son of Maacah, who was a daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;
• the fourth was Adonijah, son of Haggith;
• the fifth was Shephatiah, son of Abital;
• and the sixth was Ithream, a son of David's wife Eglah.

These were the sons David had in Hebron.

*

While the conflict between the house of Saul and the house of David continued, Abner strengthened his position in the house of Saul. Saul had had a concubine, a woman named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah.

Ish-bosheth asked Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?"

Abner was furious at Ish-bosheth's words and lashed out at him: "What?! Am I some kind of dog from Judah? Haven't I always had the best interests of your father Saul's house, his family, and his friends at heart? I made sure you didn't fall into David's hands, and you accuse me of adultery? May God do to me whatever He wills if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him: to take the kingdom away from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba!'

Ish-bosheth was so afraid of Abner that he did not dare to argue with him.

Abner immediately sent messengers to David with the message: "To whom does the land belong? Make a covenant with me, and I will help you win over all the people of Israel."

David replied, "All right, I will make a covenant with you, but on one condition: I will only receive you if you bring Saul's daughter Michal to me."

He also sent messengers to Saul's son Ish-bosheth with the message: "Give me back my wife Michal, whom I acquired as my bride for the foreskins of a hundred Philistines."

Ish-bosheth had Michal brought from her husband Paltiel, the son of Laish. Her husband went with her and followed her in tears to Bahurim. Only when Abner said, "Go, go home!" did he turn back.

Abner negotiated with the elders of Israel: "Actually, you have always wanted David as king. Now is your chance, for the LORD has promised David that through him He will save His people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and all their other enemies."

Abner also spoke with the Benjaminites. Then he went to Hebron to tell David what the Israelites and the tribe of Benjamin had decided. He arrived in Hebron with twenty delegates, wh , David prepared a feast for them.

Abner said to David, "I propose that I go and gather all the Israelites to my lord and king. They will make a covenant with you, and you will be king over all the territory you desire."

And David let Abner leave unhindered.

*

Shortly thereafter, Joab and David's men returned from a raid. They brought back a large amount of plunder. Abner was no longer in Hebron, for David had let him go unhindered. When Joab and his men arrived, they heard that Abner, the son of Ner, had been with the king and that the king had let him go unhindered. So Joab went to the king and asked,

"What have you done? Abner came to you, and you let him go? You know him! He came to deceive you and find out about your troop movements and your plans."

Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner, who returned to him at the well of Sira; David knew nothing of this. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gatehouse as if to speak to him privately and stabbed him in the stomach.

Thus Abner died because he had killed Joab's brother Asahel.

David did not learn of this until afterward. Then he cried out, "I and my house are innocent before the LORD forever of the death of Abner. May the blood of Abner, the son of Ner, be avenged on Joab and his family. May there always be someone in Joab's family who has gonorrhea or scabies, someone who walks on crutches, dies a violent death, or suffers from hunger."

So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon. David said to Joab and his men,

"Tear your clothes, put on mourning clothes, and go before Abner, wailing."

King David himself walked behind the bier when Abner was buried in Hebron. The king wailed loudly at Abner's grave, and the soldiers wailed with him.

The king sang a lament for Abner:

"How dishonorable you had to die, Abner.

Your hands were not bound,

your feet were not shackled,

yet you were struck down as if by highway robbers."

Then everyone began to wail even louder. The soldiers came to bring David something to eat while it was still light.

But David swore, "May God do to me whatever He wills if I eat bread or anything else before sunset."

Everyone witnessed this and considered it right, just as they considered everything the king did to be right. The army and everyone in Israel knew then that it was not the king who had ordered the killing of Abner, the son of Ner.

The king said to his soldiers, "Know that Israel has lost a great commander today. I am still weak, even though I have been anointed king; I am no match for these men, the sons of Zeruiah. May the LORD repay the criminal according to his crime."

*

Saul's son Ish-bosheth lost all courage when he heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron. All Israel was distraught.

At the head of Saul's son's shock troops were two Berothites. Their names were Baana and Rechab, sons of Rimmon, a Berothite from the tribe of Benjamin. The Berothites are counted among Benjamin because they fled to Gittaim in the past and have remained there as strangers to this day.

There was also a son of Saul's son Jonathan. He was lame. This happened when he was five years old, when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up to flee, but in her haste to get away, she dropped him, and he became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at the house of Ish-bosheth at noon, when he was taking his midday rest. Under the pretext of coming to get grain, the two brothers managed to enter the house. There they stabbed Ish-bosheth in the stomach and then fled. So they entered the house where he was sleeping in his bedroom and stabbed him to death. They cut off his head and took it with them. They walked through the Jordan Valley all night. When they arrived in Hebron, they handed Ish-bosheth's head to King David, saying,

"Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of your enemy Saul, who sought your life. Today the LORD has avenged you, our lord and king, on Saul and his descendants."

David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has rescued me from every trouble! Truly, the messenger who came to tell me in Ziklag that Saul was dead, thinking he was bringing good news, I seized and killed on the spot: that was the reward I gave him. And now, assassins like you have killed an innocent man in his house on his bed! Should I not avenge his blood on you and wipe you off the face of the earth?"

David signaled his soldiers, and Rechab and Baanah were put to death. Their hands and feet were cut off, and their bodies were hung up by the pool in Hebron. The head of Ish-bosheth was buried in Abner's tomb in Hebron.

*

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said to him,

"Here we are, your own flesh and blood. Even in the past, when Saul was still ruling over us, you were the one who led the troops of Israel. The LORD has promised you: You will shepherd my people Israel; you will be prince over Israel."

The elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. There, in the presence of the LORD, King David made a covenant with them, and they anointed him king of Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years: seven years and six months in Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah.

*

The king and his men went up to Jerusalem, where the Jebusites lived. The Jebusites said to David, "You will not get in here! In fact, the lame and the blind will chase you away! David will not get in here!"

Nevertheless, David captured the mountain fortress of Zion, now known as David's Citadel, and declared, "To defeat the Jebusites, all we need to do is cut off their water supply. As for those lame and blind men, I despise them from the bottom of my heart."

That is why it is said: The lame and the blind will not enter the house.

David went to live in the mountain fortress and called it the City of David. He expanded the fortress all around, as far as the Millo stronghold. Over time, David became more and more powerful, for the LORD, the God of the heavenly forces, was with him.

King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David and supplied him with cedar wood, carpenters, and stonecutters to build a palace. David realized that the LORD had appointed him as ruler over Israel and had made him a mighty king for the benefit of Israel, his people.

After his arrival from Hebron, David took more wives and concubines from Jerusalem, and he had more sons and daughters. These are the names of the sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, and Japhia, and Elishama, Eliahda, and Eliphelet.

*

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they went out with all their forces to capture him. As soon as David heard this, he fortified himself in the stronghold. The entire valley of Rephaim was already filled with Philistines. David turned to the LORD and asked,

"Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?"

The LORD replied, "Go up against them, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands."

David went to Baal Perazim, where he defeated them and said, “The LORD has broken through the enemy lines for me like a sudden flood.” That is why the place is called Baal Perazim. David and his men took the idols that the Philistines had left behind.

The Philistines made a second attack. Once again, the entire valley of Rephaim was filled. Once again, David turned to the LORD,

and he said, "Do not go straight at them. Make a detour to the mulberry trees and attack them from behind. As soon as you hear the sound of an advancing army in the treetops, strike, for then the LORD will go before you to defeat the army of the Philistines."

David did as the LORD commanded him and defeated the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

From Psalm 18 For the choir director. From David, the servant of the LORD.

He spoke the words of this song to the LORD when the LORD had rescued him

from the grasp of his enemies, including Saul. He said:

I love you, LORD, my strength,

O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,

God, my rock, in you I can take refuge,

my shield, my strength that saves me, my stronghold.

I say, "Praise be to the LORD,"

for I am delivered from my enemies.

*

David again gathered all the men of Israel who were able to fight, thirty thousand in number. He and his men set out to bring the ark of God from Baalah in Judah, the ark bearing the special name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. They brought the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which is on the hill, and drove it away on a new cart.

Abinadab's sons Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart, and Ahio walked in front of the ark. David and the Israelites danced before the LORD, accompanied by all kinds of musical instruments made of wood, lyres, harps, tambourines, rattles, and cymbals.

As they came to the place where Nachon was threshing his grain, the oxen stumbled. Uzza reached out his hand and grabbed the ark of God. The LORD was angry with Uzzah and punished him on the spot for his carelessness, so that he died instantly. David was angry because the LORD had struck down Uzzah. He named that place Perez-Uzzah, and that is its name to this day.

Then David became afraid of the LORD and wondered, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me in Jerusalem?" He did not dare to bring the ark back to the City of David, so he had it taken to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and his entire family.

When King David heard that the LORD had blessed the family of Obed-Edom and all that he had because of the presence of the ark of God, he went to the house of Obed-Edom to bring the ark up to the City of David with a celebration.

Every six steps the bearers of the ark of the LORD took, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. He danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing only a linen ephod. With shouts of joy and the sound of ram's horns, David and the Israelites brought the ark of the LORD up the hill.

When the ark was brought into David's palace, Michal, Saul's daughter, was watching from her window. She saw King David dancing and leaping before the LORD, and her heart was filled with contempt.

The ark of the LORD was placed in the tent David had set up for it, and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. Afterward, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies. He distributed bread, dried dates, and raisins to all the people, to all the Israelites present, both men and women. Then everyone went home.

David also went home to bless his family and servants. Michal came out to meet him and said,

"The king of Israel has shown himself to be very worthy today! Like the first fool, he has exposed himself before his female slaves and subjects!"

David replied, "I did it for the LORD, who appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel, choosing me over your father and his entire family. I danced before the LORD! Even if I humiliate myself even more, even if I debase myself in my own eyes, I will still be honored by the female slaves you mention."

Michal, Saul's daughter, remained childless until the day she died.

*

Psalm 110

By David, a psalm.

The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand,

I will make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

From Zion the LORD will extend to you

the scepter of power,

you will rule over your enemies.

Your people are ready on the day you go to battle.

On the holy mountains, from the womb of the dawn,

the dew of your youth comes to you.

The LORD has sworn, and will not change his mind:

"You are a priest forever, like Melchizedek.

The Lord at your right hand

crushes kings on the day of his wrath.

He judges the nations,

crushes heads, everywhere on earth,

corpses pile up.

He drinks from the stream along the way

and then he lifts his head.

*

After the king had settled into the palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look now! I live in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” "Do whatever your heart tells you," Nathan replied, "for the LORD is with you."

But that same night the LORD spoke to Nathan:

"Tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have never lived in a house since the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until now! All this time I have been moving around in a tent and a tabernacle. I have traveled throughout all the territories of Israel, and have I ever asked any of the shepherds of Israel, whom I appointed to shepherd my people, to build me a house of cedar wood?" Now, tell my servant David: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from tending sheep to lead my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. I will assign a territory to my people Israel. There I will plant them, and there they may dwell in safety. They will no longer be oppressed by wicked nations, as they were when they first settled there and I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest by delivering you from your enemies. The LORD says that He will build a house for you: When your life is over and you go to rest with your ancestors, I will have your own son succeed you and give him a lasting kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will ensure that his royal throne never wavers. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me. If he sins, I will discipline him with the rod and with blows, as a father does, but he will never lose his favor with me, as Saul did, whom I rejected because of you. I promise you that your royal house will endure forever and your throne will never be shaken.”

Nathan reported everything he had seen and heard to David. King David entered the sanctuary, sat before the LORD, and prayed:

"Who am I, LORD my God, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? And as if that were not enough, LORD my God, You have also spoken about the future of my royal house. May this become law for mankind, LORD my God. What more can I say? You know Your servant, LORD my God. You have done all these great things and made them known to me because You act according to Your word and keep what You have promised. That is why You are great, Lord, my God. It is as we have always been told: there is no one like You, there is no other god but You.

And who can compare with Israel, your people? They are the only people on earth whom God has committed himself to redeem and make his own, in order to establish his name through great and impressive deeds: for the sake of your people, whom you delivered from Egypt, you have put foreign nations and their gods to flight. You have destined your people Israel for yourself forever, and you, LORD, are their God.

Now, Lord God, keep the promise you made to me and my royal house, and keep your word forever. Then your name will be honored forever, and people will say, "The Lord of Heaven's Armies is God over Israel," and the royal house of your servant David will endure forever. You, LORD of heavenly forces, God of Israel, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for me.

Therefore, I dare to offer this prayer to you. You, Lord, my God, have promised me such a great future. You alone are God; your words will surely come true. So bless my royal house so that it may endure forever. For you, Lord, my God, have promised this. May the royal house of your servant be blessed by you forever.

From Psalm 30 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple.

By David.

Sing to the LORD, you who are faithful to him,

praise his holy name.

His anger lasts but a moment,

his love lasts a lifetime.

We go to bed weeping at night,

in the morning we rise with shouts of joy.

In my overconfidence I thought:

I will never falter.

LORD, You loved me and I stood like a mighty mountain,

You hid Your face, and I melted away with fear.

I call upon you, LORD,

I beg You, Lord, for mercy.

What good will it do you if I die,

if I go down to the grave?

Can dust praise You

and testify to your faithfulness?

Hear, O Lord, and show Your mercy,

LORD, come to my aid.

You have turned my mourning into dancing,

removed my mourning clothes, clothed me in joy.

My soul will sing to you and not be silent.

LORD, my God, I will praise you forever.

*

Some time later, David defeated the Philistines. He subjugated them and took away their rule over their capital city.

He also defeated the Moabites. He forced them to lie down on the ground and measured out the line with a rope: two-thirds of the line had to be killed and one-third allowed to live. Since then, the Moabites have been subject to David and had to pay tribute.

Later, he defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rechob, the king of Zobah, when he was on his way to restore his power over the region along the Euphrates. David captured 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He disabled the chariots by cutting the tendons of all the horses except for 100 pairs.

David defeated twenty-two thousand Arameans from the vicinity of Damascus who came to the aid of King Hadadezer of Zobah. He then occupied strategic points in the kingdom of Damascus. Since then, the Arameans have been subject to him and have had to pay tribute. The LORD was with David in everything he did.

David took the gold quivers from Hadadezer's bodyguards and brought them to Jerusalem. From Betach and Berotai, cities belonging to Hadadezer, he brought back a large amount of bronze. When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's army, he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him on his victory. Toi was at war with Hadadezer. Joram brought gifts of gold, silver, and bronze. King David dedicated these gifts to the LORD, along with the gold and silver from the nations he had subjugated: the Arameans, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites, and from Hadadezer, king of Zobah.

After David returned from defeating the Arameans, he further extended his fame by defeating the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand men. He occupied strategic points throughout Edom, and since then the Edomites have been subject to David. The LORD helped David in everything he undertook.

From Psalm 60 For the choir director. To the tune of “The Lily of the Testimony.”

A silent prayer of David, for instruction, when he fought against the Arameans of Naharaim and Zobah,

and when Joab defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, twelve thousand men.

God, you have rejected us, scattered us,

poured out your wrath upon us. Turn our fate to good.

You have shaken and split the land,

heal its cracks, for it is collapsing.

You have made your people suffer greatly,

made us drink bitter wine.

Give a sign to those who revere you,

let them escape the arrows of the bow.

Free your beloved people,

help them with your mighty hand, hear us.

God has spoken in his sanctuary:

"I will divide Shechem with joy, and measure out the valley of Sukkot.

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine,

Ephraim is the helmet on my head, Judah the scepter in my hand.

Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I set my foot.

Philistia, cheer for me!"

Who will lead me into the fortress,

who will lead me to Edom?

Is it not you, God, who rejected us?

Do you not lead our armies, God?

Stand by us against the enemy,

the help of men is in vain.

With God we will triumph,

He will trample our enemies.

*

David ruled over all Israel. He treated his subjects well and justly. Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was commander of the army; Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was recorder; Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests; Seraiah was secretary; Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was commander of the Kerethites and Pelethites. David's sons were also priests.

David asked, "Is there anyone left of Saul's family? I will treat him well, because of my obligation to Jonathan."

Now there was a man named Ziba who was in the service of Saul's family. He was summoned to David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"

"Your servant, my lord," he replied.

The king asked him, "Is there anyone left of Saul's family? I will treat him well, as God commands."

Ziba replied, "There is still a son of Jonathan, a cripple." "

Where is he?" the king asked him,

and Ziba answered, "He is staying in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-Debar."

King David sent for Jonathan's son, Saul's grandson, from the house of Machir in Lo-Debar. When he came to David, he knelt down and bowed low.

"Mephibosheth?" David asked,

and he answered, "I am your servant, my lord."

Then David said to him, "Don't be afraid, I assure you that I will treat you well, as I owe it to your father Jonathan. I will give you back the land of your grandfather Saul, and from now on you will be a guest at my table."

Mephibosheth bowed again and said, "Who am I, sir, that you should care for a dead dog like me?"

Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I am giving your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and servants shall work the land for him, and bring in the produce to your master's grandson, so that he may live. And Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall be a guest at my table from now on."

Ziba replied to the king, "As you command, my lord and king. It shall be done."

So Mephibosheth was taken into the court and treated as one of the king's sons. He had a young son named Mica. Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, was in the service of Mephibosheth with all the members of his household. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem and was taken into the court. He was lame in both feet.

*

Psalm 65 For the choir director. A psalm of David, a song.

Praise is due to you, God who dwells on Zion,

You will receive what You have promised.

You who hear our prayers—to You mortals come.

When our sins become too heavy for us, You take away what we have done wrong.

Blessed are those whom You have chosen and allowed to approach You,

he may dwell in your courts.

We enjoy the goodness of your house,

the holy things of your temple.

Awesome is your answer,

You do justice and save us, God,

the ends of the earth hope in you,

the distant seas.

You have established the mountains with strength,

You are girded with power,

You calm the roar of the seas,

the roar of the waves,

the tumult of the nations.

Fear of your signs fills

those who dwell at the ends of the earth,

You bring joy from east to west.

You care for the land and water it, You make it fruitful,

the river of God is full of water.

You prepare the land for the corn, you prepare it:

You saturate the furrows and smooth the clods,

soaking them with rain and blessing the young green.

You crown the year with your bountiful gifts,

where your feet tread, it drips with abundance,

the fields in the steppe drip,

the hills gird themselves with rejoicing,

the meadows are clothed with flocks,

the valleys adorn themselves with grain.

They sing and cheer each other on.