Daily Bible Readings December 4, 2018

2 Samuel 23:1-7 Common English Bible (CEB)

David’s last words

23 These are David’s last words:

This is the declaration of Jesse’s son David,
    the declaration of a man raised high,
    a man anointed by the God of Jacob,
    a man favored by the strong one of Israel.[a]
2 The Lord’s spirit speaks through me;
    his word is on my tongue.
3 Israel’s God has spoken,
    Israel’s rock said to me:
“Whoever rules rightly over people,
    whoever rules in the fear of God,
4     is like the light of sunrise
    on a morning with no clouds,
        like the bright gleam after the rain
        that brings grass from the ground.”
5 Yes, my house is this way with God![b]
    He has made an eternal covenant with me,
    laid out and secure in every detail.
Yes, he provides every one of my victories
    and brings my every desire to pass.
6 But despicable people are like thorns,
    all of them good for nothing,
    because they can’t be carried by hand.
7 No one can touch them,
except with iron bar or the shaft of a spear.
    They must be burned up with fire right on the spot!

Footnotes:

1. 2 Samuel 23:1 Or Israel’s favorite singer or the favorite of Israel’s songs
2. 2 Samuel 23:5 Or Yes, my house is surely with God!