David, the man after God's own heart, gathered the nation, but after committing adultery and murdering his lover's husband, he is haunted and pursued by crises in his own family, and by national political crises.
| Author | Unknown author |
| For whom it was written | For the Israelites. |
| Chapter amount | 24 |
| Verse amount | 695 |
| David | The second and most illustrious of the kings of Israel. Known as the man after God's own heart. |
| Ishbosheth | Son of Saul, reigned for two years over Israel. |
| Abner | Cousin of Saul and chief of the army. |
| Mephibosheth | Son of Saul and Rizpah. |
| Uriah | One of David's captains and husband of Bathsheba. |
| Bathsheba | David commits adultery with her. |
| Nathan | Prophet during the reigns of David and Solomon. |
| Joab | Nephew of David and chief commander of his army. |
| Amnon | Firstborn son of David and Ahinoam. He was killed by Absalom after dishonoring his sister Tamar. |
| Absalom | Third son of David. He murdered his older brother Amnon, who had violated his sister, Tamar. |
| 1, 2 | David mourns the death of his friend Jonathan and his father, King Saul. The people of Judah (southern tribes) make David their king, but Ishbosheth, son of Saul, reigns over Israel (northern tribes). David's soldiers fight against the soldiers of Abner, servant of Ishbosheth. |
| 3, 4 | Abner leaves Ishbosheth and makes an alliance with David. Joab, chief of David's army, kills Abner, avenging the death of his companions killed in battle. Two servants of Ishbosheth kill him and bring his head to David. |
| 5, 6 | David reigns over all 12 tribes and makes Jerusalem the capital of Israel. David brings the ark to Jerusalem. |
| 7 | David desires to build a temple for the LORD, but He responds by saying that He will build a house (family) for David. |
| 8 - 10 | David defeats the Philistines, the Moabites, the Zobahites, and the Syrians, strengthening the nation. David treats the son of his friend Jonathan, Mephibosheth, with great kindness. |
| 11, 12 | David commits adultery and kills the husband of his lover. He confesses his sin before God, God forgives him, but punishes him with the death of his son. |
| 13 - 18 | A series of problems occur in David's family. Amnon and Tamar commit incest. Absalom kills his brother Amnon and flees. David forgives him, and Absalom returns to Jerusalem. Absalom stages a rebellion and plots to take David's kingdom, forcing David to flee from Jerusalem. David's soldiers have victory over Absalom's army. Joab, David's servant, kills Absalom. |
| 19, 20 | David returns to Jerusalem. Judah and Israel form one kingdom again. |
| 21 | Famine in Israel. David is nearly killed in a battle against the Philistines. |
| 22 - 24 | David's song of thanksgiving. David doubts God's protection and orders a census of the people to be sure that the nation is truly strong. God becomes angry and sends a plague upon the people. David builds an altar to God, and God forgives him. |