5:1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron saying, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! 1 5:2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. 2 The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”
5:3 When all the leaders 3 of Israel came to the king at Hebron, King David made an agreement with them 4 in Hebron before the Lord. They designated 5 David as king over Israel. 5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned for forty years. 5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem 6 he reigned for thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
5:6 Then the king and his men advanced to Jerusalem 7 against the Jebusites who lived in the land. The Jebusites 8 said to David, “You cannot invade this place! Even the blind and the lame will turn you back, saying, ‘David cannot invade this place!’”
5:7 But David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the city of David). 5:8 David said on that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ who are David’s enemies 9 by going through the water tunnel.” 10 For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” 11
5:9 So David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. David built all around it, from the terrace inwards. 5:10 David’s power grew steadily, for the Lord God 12 who commands armies 13 was with him. 14