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men, as they had asked, sparing Mephibosheth; but they, taking the men, killed them. And God brought rain upon the earth. After these things a war arose against foreigners, and David with his own army pursued the enemies. And having become weary, he was faint and exhausted; and one of the opponents, seeing him in this state, rushed to strike him, but Abishai the brother of Joab, defending the king, killed the foreigner. And for this reason David's men swore that they would no longer permit him to go out to war. And again when the foreigners waged war, the king, sending an army against them, caused many to be killed, and the survivors to flee. And after a short while the foreigners again came against the country of the Israelites. And there was among them a gigantic man, having six fingers on each hand and likewise on his feet; whom Jonathan, David's nephew, engaging in combat, struck him down and despoiled him and provided a turn towards victory for his kinsmen. Therefore the foreigners no longer undertook to fight with the Hebrews. And from then on having obtained peace, David composed odes 1.116 to God, and having constructed instruments, he taught the Levites to sing the hymns with them. And such were the instruments: the kinnor was ten-stringed and was struck with a plectrum, and the nebel, having twelve notes, was struck with the fingers; and there were bronze cymbals, both large and broad. And there was also around David a company of valiant men. The most distinguished of these happened to be thirty-seven, who often showed their valor. And once when the foreigners were encamped at Bethlehem, the king desired to drink water from the well in Bethlehem. And three of his brave men ran and, passing through the middle of the opponents' camp, drew water from that well, and again passing through the enemies, who were astonished at their boldness and remained still, they brought the water to the king. But he said, "The Lord be merciful to me," "I will not drink this, brought with the blood of the men and the peril of their lives." Therefore he did not drink it, but poured it out to God. And wishing to count all the people, he ordered Joab to make the count. But when he did not approve of the plan and said the deed was not good, the king was not persuaded. And Joab went away and numbered the people, and the number of Israel was eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and five hundred thousand fighting men from the tribe of Judah. Then David repented and confessed that he had sinned. But Gad the prophet, at God's command, went to David and said, "Choose from these three things what is your will, whether you choose for there to be a famine 1.117 for you throughout the land for seven years, or to be pursued by enemies for three months, or for death to fall upon your people for three days." But he said, "I am in a great strait on every side," "but it is better for me to fall into the hands of God." And death came upon the people from morning until the time of the midday meal, and seventy thousand from all the people died. And David besought God. And the destroying angel stretched out his hand against Jerusalem. Therefore the king said, "I have sinned, O Lord, the shepherd, but the flocks, the people, have not sinned; I am worthy of punishment and not these." And God, moved by the king's contrition, stopped the destruction, and through the prophet Gad, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he commanded an altar to be built and to sacrifice there. And David did so, having bought the threshing-floor from Ornan. And as Josephus wrote, in that place it is said that Abraham brought Isaac in order to offer him as a whole burnt offering. And David also wished to build a temple to God there, but he was forbidden by God. And when David became very old, he suffered from cold due to his old age. Therefore they chose a young maiden; her name was Abishag; and the girl would lie with the king and keep him warm. And he did not know her; for on account of old age he was not able to have sexual relations.

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ανδρας, ὡς ῃτησαν, τοῦ Μεμφιβοσθὲ φεισάμενος· οἱ δὲ λαβόντες τοὺς ανδρας ἀπέκτειναν. καὶ κατήνεγκεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὑετόν. Πολέμου δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα γενομένου πρὸς ἀλλοφύλους ὁ ∆αβὶδ μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας στρατιᾶς κατεδίωξε τοὺς πολεμίους. καὶ κατάκοπος γεγονὼς παρεῖτο ἐκλυθείς· καί τις τῶν ἐναντίων ουτως εχοντα ἰδὼν ωρμησε πατάξαι αὐτόν, ̓Αβεσὰ δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ̓Ιωὰβ ὑπερασπίσας τοῦ βασιλέως τὸν ἀλλόφυλον εκτεινε. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ωμοσαν οἱ περὶ ∆αβὶδ μηκέτι παραχωρῆσαι εἰς πόλεμον αὐτὸν ἐξελθεῖν. καὶ πάλιν δὲ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων στρατευσαμένων στείλας ὁ βασιλεὺς στρατὸν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς πολλοὺς μὲν κτανθῆναι πεποίηκε, τοὺς δὲ περιλειφθέντας φυγεῖν. διαλιπόντες δὲ μικρὸν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ἐπῆλθον ετι κατὰ τῆς χώρας τῶν ̓Ισραηλιτῶν. καὶ ην παρ' αὐτοῖς γιγαντιαῖος ἀνήρ, εξ δακτύλους εχων ἐν ἑκατέρᾳ χειρὶ καὶ ὁμοίως ἐν τοῖς ποσίν· ῳ συμπλακεὶς ὁ ̓Ιωνάθαν ἀδελφιδοῦς τοῦ ∆αβὶδ κατέβαλεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐσκύλευσε καὶ ῥοπὴν πρὸς νίκην τοῖς ὁμοφύλοις παρέσχετο. οὐκέτι γοῦν προσέθεντο οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι τοῖς ̔Εβραίοις μαχέσασθαι. Εἰρήνης δ' εκτοτε τυχὼν ὁ ∆αβὶδ ᾠδὰς συνέθετο 1.116 πρὸς θεόν, καὶ οργανα κατασκευάσας μετ' αὐτῶν ἐδίδαξε τοὺς Λευίτας τοὺς υμνους ᾳδειν. τοιαῦτα δ' ησαν τὰ οργανα· ἡ μὲν κινύρα δεκάχορδος ην καὶ πλήκτρῳ ἐκρούετο, ἡ δὲ νάβλα δώδεκα φθόγγους εχουσα τοῖς δακτύλοις ἐπλήττετο· κύμβαλά τε ὑπῆρχον χάλκεα, μεγάλα τε καὶ πλατέα. ην δὲ περὶ τὸν ∆αβὶδ καὶ σύστημα γενναίων ἀνδρῶν. οἱ δὲ τούτων ἐπισημότατοι τριάκοντα ἐτύγχανον καὶ ἑπτά, οι πολλάκις ἠρίστευσαν. καί ποτε ἀλλοφύλων ἐπὶ Βηθλεὲμ ἐστρατοπεδευκότων ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκ τοῦ ἐν Βηθλεὲμ φρέατος υδωρ πιεῖν ἐπεθύμησε. καὶ τρεῖς ἐκ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν ἀνδρείων δραμόντες καὶ μέσην τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων διελθόντες παρεμβολὴν ὑδρεύσαντο ἐξ ἐκείνου τοῦ φρέατος, καὶ αυθις διὰ τῶν πολεμίων διελθόντες καταπλαγέντων τὸ θράσος αὐτῶν καὶ ἠρεμούντων, τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸ υδωρ προσκεκομίκασιν. ὁ δέ "ιλεώς μοι κύριος" ειπεν, "οὐ πίομαι τοῦτο, αιματι τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ κινδύνῳ τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν κομισθέν." οὐκ επιεν ουν, ἀλλ' εσπεισεν αὐτὸ τῷ θεῷ. ̓Απαριθμῆσαι δὲ τὸν λαὸν απαντα βουληθεὶς ἐκέλευσε τῷ ̓Ιωὰβ ποιῆσαι τὴν ἀπαρίθμησιν. τοῦ δὲ μὴ ἐπαινέσαντος τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν οὐκ ἀγαθὴν λέγοντος, ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐκ ἐπείθετο. καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ̓Ιωὰβ καὶ ἠρίθμησε τὸν λαόν, καὶ ην ὁ ἀριθμὸς ̓Ισραὴλ ὀκτακοσίων χιλιάδων ἀνδρῶν δυνάμεως σπωμένων ῥομφαίαν, καὶ πεντακοσίων χιλιάδων ἀνδρῶν μαχητῶν τῶν ἐξ ̓Ιούδα φυλῆς. ειτα μετεμέλετο ὁ ∆αβὶδ καὶ ὡμολόγει ἡμαρτηκέναι. Γὰδ δὲ ὁ προφήτης κελεύσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπορεύθη πρὸς τὸν ∆αβὶδ καί φησιν "ἐκ τριῶν τούτων εκλεξαι ο πρὸς βουλῆς σοί ἐστι, πότερον αἱρῇ ἐπὶ ετη ἑπτὰ λιμὸν εσεσθαί 1.117 σοι κατὰ τὴν χώραν, η τρεῖς μῆνας ὑπὸ πολεμίων διώκεσθαι, η θάνατον ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἐνσκῆψαί σου τῷ λαῷ." ὁ δέ "στενά μοι πάντοθεν" εφη, "ἀλλὰ βέλτιόν μοι εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ θεοῦ ἐμπεσεῖν." καὶ ἐπῆλθε θάνατος τῷ λαῷ πρωίθεν εως ωρας ἀρίστου, καὶ ἀπέθανον ἐκ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ χιλιάδες ἑβδομήκοντα. καὶ ∆αβὶδ ἱκέτευε τὸν θεόν. καὶ ὁ ὀλοθρεύων αγγελος τὸν λαὸν ἐξέτεινε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ ̔Ιερουσαλήμ. ειπεν ουν ὁ βασιλεύς "ἐγὼ ἡμάρτηκα, κύριε, ὁ ποιμήν, τὰ δὲ ποίμνια ὁ λαὸς οὐχ ἡμάρτοσαν· ἐγώ εἰμι κολάσεως αξιος καὶ οὐχ ουτοι." δυσωπηθεὶς δὲ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως κατάνυξιν ὁ θεὸς επαυσε τὴν φθοράν, καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Γὰδ ἐν τῇ αλωνι τοῦ ̓Ιεβουσαίου ̓Ορνᾶ θυσιαστήριον ἐκέλευσε πήξασθαι καὶ θῦσαι ἐκεῖ. καὶ ἐποίησεν ουτως ∆αβίδ, ὠνησάμενος τὴν αλω ἐκ τοῦ ̓Ορνᾶ. ὡς δὲ ̓Ιώσηπος εγραψεν, ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ τόπῳ λέγεται ἀγαγεῖν ̓Αβραὰμ τὸν ̓Ισαὰκ ωστε ὁλοκαυτῶσαι αὐτόν. ἠβούλετο δὲ καὶ ναὸν οἰκοδομῆσαι ∆αβὶδ ἐκεῖ τῷ θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἀπείρχθη πρὸς θεοῦ. Πρεσβύτης δὲ σφόδρα γενόμενος ὁ ∆αβὶδ δύσριγος ὑπὸ τοῦ γήρως ἐτύγχανε. διὸ νεάνιδα ἐξελέξαντο· ̓Αβισὰκ ονομα αὐτῇ· καὶ ην ἡ κόρη συγκοιταζομένη τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ θάλπουσα αὐτόν. καὶ οὐκ εγνω αὐτήν· ἀφροδισιάζειν γὰρ διὰ γῆρας οὐκ