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sending, he said again to his son, "And now, Solomon, know the God of your fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and knows every thought. And if you seek him, he will be found by you; and if you forsake him, he will forsake you forever." And David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the entire temple and of the Cherubim with wings outstretched and overshadowing the ark of the covenant of the Lord. David gave everything in writing from the hand of the Lord to Solomon his son, saying, "Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord my God is with you." And after these things David died with wealth and glory and piety in a good old age and full of days, at 70 years of age. For it says, "And it came to pass after the death of Saul, that the men 1.159 of Judea came to Hebron, and they anoint him as king over all Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for forty years." But while he was deemed worthy of the royal anointing by Samuel, the history indifferently called the proclamations of the people "anointings". Therefore, upon dying, he was buried in the city of Jerusalem in the greatest tomb, which his most wise son Solomon built beside Siloam. And David reigned for seven years while Saul was still alive, and after his death, for 33. And David himself prophesied, and Gad and Nathan and Asaph and Idithum. And Joab was his general, who numbered the people, and it was found to be one million one hundred thousand, and of Judah 470 thousand. But they did not number Levi and Benjamin. And by the wrath of God, 70 thousand from the people fell in three hours. It should be noted that when some extraordinary plague and wrath is laid up for the lawless and contemptuous by the one who arranges all things with just scales, some evil deed is permitted to be worked by the leaders of the people, so that the evils might be believed to be brought on not without reason nor by chance, but by a just judgment. But one must not think that it is only because of the heedlessness of the rulers that extraordinary deaths and excesses of calamities and common destructions befall the people and the crowds, but all, being made subject to the law, either the natural or the written or both, receive the punishments they deserve at the proper time. But Scripture, avoiding the enumeration 1.160 of the individual sins of men because of their infinitude, relates the king's transgression as having become a cause of punishment for those who were ruled, such as has indeed been seen in the case of David. For the wrath of the Lord was indeed laid up against Israel on account of their manifold transgressions, to be sure, but a spirit incited David to number Israel. And when this was done, Gad the prophet, sent from God, stood by him in the morning and urged him to choose one of three things: either three years of famine upon your land, or three months of fleeing, being pursued before your enemies, or three days of plague to be in your land. But he said, "Groans from every side; yet let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are many, but let me not fall into the hands of men, for they are merciless." And he chose for himself the plague. And it was the days of the wheat harvest, and the Lord sent a plague from morning until the time of the midday meal, and seventy thousand men died. And the angel of God was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. But David cried out, "Behold, it is I who have done wrong; let your hand be on me and on my father's house." And the Lord was entreated and restrained the destruction against Israel.

That when David became old he could not get warm with clothes, and they brought a young virgin, Abishag the Shunammite, and she was cherishing him on the bed, and the king did not know her. But Adonijah, son of David, exalting himself, seized the kingdom. And Bathsheba went in to David, and bowing 1.161 down said, "My lord the king, you swore to me by the Lord your God that Solomon my son

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ἀποστείλας εἶπεν αὖθις τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ "καὶ νῦν, Σολομῶν, γνῶθι τὸν θεὸν τῶν πατέρων σου, καὶ δούλευσον αὐτῷ ἐν καρδίᾳ τελείᾳ καὶ ψυχῇ θελούσῃ, ὅτι καρδίας πάσας ἐτάζει κύριος καὶ πᾶν ἐνθύμημα γινώσκει. καὶ ἐὰν ζητήσῃς αὐτόν, εὑρεθήσεταί σοι· καὶ ἐὰν καταλείψῃς αὐτόν, καταλείψει σε εἰς τέλος." καὶ ἔδωκε ∆αβὶδ Σολομῶντι τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ τὸ παράδειγμα τοῦ ναοῦ παντὸς καὶ τῶν Χερουβὶμ τῶν διαπεπετασμένων ταῖς πτέρυξι καὶ σκιαζόντων ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ διαθήκης κυρίου. πάντα ἐν γραφῇ χειρὸς κυρίου δέδωκε ∆αβὶδ Σολομῶντι τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, λέγων "ἴσχυε καὶ ἀν δρίζου, ὅτι κύριος ὁ θεός μου μετά σου." Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐτελεύτησε ∆αβὶδ πλούτῳ καὶ δόξῃ καὶ εὐ σεβείᾳ ἐν γήρει καλῷ καὶ πλήρης ἡμερῶν, ἐτῶν οʹ. φησὶ γάρ "καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν Σαούλ, καὶ ἔρχονται οἱ ἄν 1.159 δρες τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐν Χεβρών, καὶ χρίουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ πάντα Ἰσραήλ. τριάκοντα ἐτῶν ∆αβὶδ ἐν τῷ βασιλεύειν αὐ τόν. καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη τεσσαράκοντα." ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν βασι λικῆς χρίσεως διὰ Σαμουὴλ ἠξιώθη, τὰς δέ γε τοῦ λαοῦ ἀναγο ρεύσεις ἡ ἱστορία χρίσεις ἀδιαφόρως ὠνόμασε. τελευτήσας τοί νυν ἐτάφη ἐν τῇ πόλει Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἰς τὸ μέγιστον μνῆμα, ὃ ᾠκοδόμησεν ὁ σοφώτατος υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Σολομῶν παρὰ τὴν Σιλωάμ. βασιλεύει δὲ ὁ ∆αβὶδ ἑπτὰ μὲν ἔτη περιόντος τοῦ Σαούλ, μετὰ δὲ τὴν τελευτὴν τούτου λγʹ. προεφήτευσε δὲ αὐτός τε ∆αβὶδ καὶ Γὰδ καὶ Νάθαν καὶ Ἀσὰφ καὶ Ἰδιθούμ. ἐστρατηλάτει δὲ αὐτῷἸωάβ, ὃς ἠρίθμησε τὸν λαόν, καὶ εὑρέθη χίλιαι ἑκατὸν χιλιά δες, τοῦ δὲ Ἰούδα υοʹ χιλιάδες. τὸν δὲ Λευὶ καὶ τὸν Βενιαμὶν οὐκ ἠρίθμησαν. πεπτώκασι δὲ κατ' ὀργὴν θεοῦ ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐν τρισὶν ὥραις χιλιάδες οʹ. Σημειωτέον ὡς ἡνίκα τις ἀπόκειται τοῖς ἀνομοῦσι καὶ κατα φρονοῦσιν ἐξαισία πληγὴ καὶ ὀργὴ παρὰ τῷ δικαίοις τὰ πάντα διευθετοῦντι ζυγοῖς, συγχωρεῖταί τις ἐνεργεθῆναι πονηροπραξία τοῖς τοῦ λαοῦ ἡγουμένοις, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἀλόγως μηδὲ ὡς ἐξ αὐτομά του ἀλλ' ἐκ δικαίας κρίσεως ἐπάγεσθαι πιστεύοιτο τὰ κακά. οὐ δεῖ δὲ οἴεσθαι ὡς διὰ μόνην τῶν ἀρχόντων τὴν ἀπροσεξίαν ἐξαί σιοι θάνατοι καὶ συμφορῶν ὑπερβολαὶ τοῖς λαοῖς καὶ κοιναὶ τοῖς ὄχλοις ἐπισυμβαίνουσι πανωλεθρίαι, πάντες δὲ τῷ νόμῳ ἢ τῷ φυσικῷ ἢ τῷ γραπτῷ ἢ καὶ ἀμφοῖν ὑπόδικοι καθιστάμενοι τοῖς ἀξίοις κατὰ καιρὸν τυγχάνουσιν ἐπιτιμίοις. φεύγουσα δὲ τὸ τὰ 1.160 καθ' ἕκαστα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἁμαρτήματα διὰ τὸ ἄπειρον ἀπα ριθμεῖν ἡ γραφὴ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀνόμημα ὡς αἴτιον τιμωρίας γενόμενον τοῖς βασιλευομένοις ὑφηγεῖται, οἷον δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ γεγονὸς ὦπται. ἀπέκειτο μὲν γὰρ ὀργὴ κυρίου κατὰ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τὰς πολυτρόπους αὐτῶν ἀθετήσεις δηλαδή, ἐπέσεισε δὲ πνεῦμα τὸν ∆αβὶδ ἀριθμῆσαι τὸν Ἰσραήλ. καὶ τούτου γενομένου παρέστη αὐτῷ πρωῒ Γὰδ ὁ προφήτης θεόθεν ἀποσταλεὶς καὶ τρία ἐκλέξα σθαι αὐτῷ παρεγγυῶν, ἢ τρία ἔτη λιμὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν σου, ἢ τρεῖς μῆνας διωκόμενον φεύγειν ἐκ προσώπου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου, ἢ τρεῖς ἡμέρας θάνατον γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ γῇ σου. ὁ δὲ "στεναγμοὶ πάντο θεν· πλὴν ἐμπεσοῦμαι δὴ εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ κυρίου, ὅτι πολλοὶ οἱ οἰκτιρμοὶ αὐτοῦ, εἰς δὲ χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων μὴ ἐμπέσοιμι, ὅτι ἀνελεήμονες." καὶ ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ τὸν θάνατον. ἦσαν δὲ ἡμέραι θερισμοῦ πυρῶν, καὶ ἔδωκε κύριος θάνατον ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν ἕως ἀρίστου, καὶ ἀπέθανον ἑβδομήκοντα χιλιάδες ἀνδρῶν. ἦν δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ θεοῦ ἑστηκὼς παρὰ τὴν ἅλωνα Ὀρνᾶ τοῦ Γεβουσ σαίου. ∆αβὶδ δὲ ἐβόα "ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἠδίκησα· γενέσθω ἡ χείρ σου ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρός μου." καὶ παρακληθεὶς ὁ κύριος συνέσχε τὴν θραῦσιν τὴν κατὰ Ἰσραήλ.

Ὅτι πρεσβύτερος γενόμενος ὁ ∆αβὶδ τοῖς ἱματίοις οὐκ ἐθερ μαίνετο, καὶ ἤνεγκαν νεάνιδα παρθένον Ἀβισὰκ τὴν Σωμανῖτιν, καὶ ἦν αὐτὸν περιθάλπουσα ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτήν. Ἀδωνίας δὲ υἱὸς ∆αβὶδ ἐπαιρόμενος ἐκράτει τῆς βασιλείας. καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Βηρσαβεὲ πρὸς ∆αβίδ, καὶ προσκυνή 1.161 σασα εἶπε "κύριε βασιλεῦ, ὤμοσάς μοι ἐν κυρίῳ θεῷ σου ὅτι Σο λομῶν ὁ υἱός μου