David Anointed King

¹eThen all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. ²In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, f‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’” ³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, gaccording to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

David Takes Jerusalem

⁴And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, hthat is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, ithe inhabitants of the land. ⁵The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁶David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first jshall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. ⁹And David kbecame greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

David's Mighty Men

¹⁰lNow these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, maccording to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹This is an account of David's mighty men: nJashobeam, a nHachmonite, was ochief of the three.1 He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time.

¹²And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of pDodo, the Ahohite. ¹³He was with David at Pas-dammim qwhen the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴But he took his2 stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the Lord saved them by a great victory.

¹⁵Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the rValley of Rephaim. ¹⁶David was then in the stronghold, and the sgarrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁷And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁸Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁹and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

²⁰Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty.3 And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. ²¹He was the most renowned4 of the thirty5 and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

²²And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man6 of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²³And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits7 tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear tlike a weaver's beam, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²⁵He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁶The mighty men were uAsahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁷Shammoth of Harod,8 Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, ²⁹Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰Maharai of Netophah, Heled the son of Baanah of Netophah, ³¹Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, ³²Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴Hashem9 the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷Hezro of Carmel, Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of vHagri, ³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹Uriah the Hittite, wZabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴²Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

The Mighty Men Join David

¹xNow these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ²They ywere bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the zleft hand; they were Benjaminites, aSaul's kinsmen. ³The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of bGibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of cAnathoth, ⁴Ishmaiah of dGibeon, a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah,1 Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, ⁵Eluzai,2 Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the eKorahites; ⁷And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were fswift as gazelles upon the mountains: ⁹Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, ¹⁰Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹²Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁴These Gadites were officers of the army; the least was a gmatch for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand. ¹⁵These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was hoverflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶And some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.” ¹⁸Then ithe Spirit clothed jAmasai, chief of the thirty, and he said,

“We are yours, O David,

and with you, O son of Jesse!

kPeace, peace to you,

and peace to your helpers!

For your God helps you.”

Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.

¹⁹Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David lwhen he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, m“At peril to our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”) ²⁰As he went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹They helped David against nthe band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were commanders in the army. ²²For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.

²³These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops owho came to David in Hebron pto turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, qaccording to the word of the Lord. ²⁴The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. ²⁵Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. ²⁶Of the Levites 4,600. ²⁷The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. ²⁸rZadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers' house. ²⁹Of the Benjaminites, sthe kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the tmajority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses. ³¹Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were uexpressly named to come and make David king. ³²Of Issachar, men who vhad understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. ³³Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, wequipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David3 with xsingleness of purpose. ³⁴Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. ³⁵Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. ³⁶Of yAsher 40,000 zseasoned troops zready for battle. ³⁷Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.

³⁸All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with aa whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a bsingle mind to make David king. ³⁹And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. ⁴⁰And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, ccakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.