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So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces inward.
2 Samuel 5:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB David lived in the stronghold, and called it David’s city. David built around from Millo and inward.
  • KJV So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.
  • NKJV Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward.
  • NASB So David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward.
  • NLT So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces and working inward.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

David settles in the stronghold, names it the city of David, and begins building it up. He establishes and fortifies his new capital.

Overview

David takes up residence in the captured fortress, renames it the city of David, and undertakes construction from the Millo inward. This building activity signals the permanence and growth of his kingdom centered in Jerusalem. The city David founds becomes the enduring throne-city of his dynasty and a type of the everlasting kingdom of Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • 1 Kgs 9:24As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
  • 1 Kgs 9:15This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
  • 1 Kgs 11:27and this is the account of his rebellion against the king. Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.
  • 2 Sam 5:7Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).
  • 2 Chr 32:5Then Hezekiah worked resolutely to rebuild all the broken sections of the wall and to raise up towers on it. He also built an outer wall and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David, and he produced an abundance of weapons and shields.
  • 1 Chr 11:8He built up the city around it, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city.
  • Judg 9:20But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
  • Judg 9:6Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Samuel 5:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.

How 2 Samuel 5:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.