Then all the Yisra’elite clans came to David at Hebron and said, ‘Here, we are your flesh and blood. Further, in previous days, when Sha’ul was king over us, you were the one who took Yisra’el out and brought Yisra’el in. Yahweh said to you, “You’re the one who will shepherd my people Yisra’el. You’re the one who will be ruler over Yisra’el.”’ So all Yisra’el’s elders came to the king at Hebron, King David solemnized a pact to them at Hebron before Yahweh, and they anointed David as king over Yisra’el. David was a man of thirty years when he began to reign and he reigned for forty years: in Hebron he reigned over Yehudah for seven years and six months, and in Yerushalaim he reigned for thirty-three years over all Yisra’el and Yehudah.
The king and his men went to Yerushalaim against the Yebusites, the inhabitants of the region. They said to David, ‘You won’t come in here. Actually, the blind and the lame could have removed you’ (saying, ‘David won’t come in here’). But David captured the Zion stronghold (i.e. David’s Town). David said on that day, ‘Anyone striking down the Yebusites (the blind and the lame, treated with hostility by David himself – that’s why they say, “A blind or lame person will not come into the house”) should take possession of the conduit.’ David lived in the stronghold and named it ‘David’s Town’. David built it up all round from the Fill to the house. David went on getting bigger and bigger, as Yahweh the God of Armies was with him. Hiram king of Tsor [Tyre] sent envoys to David with cedar wood, crafsmen in wood and craftsmen in stone for walls, and they built a house for David.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Goldingay, John; The Bible for Everyone . SPCK. Kindle Edition.