11 Then all Isra’el gathered themselves to David in Hevron and said, “Here, we are your own flesh and bone. ² In the past, even when Sha’ul was king, it was you who led Isra’el’s military campaigns; and Adonai your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Isra’el, and you will be chief over my people Isra’el.’” ³ So all the leaders of Isra’el came to the king in Hevron; and David made a covenant with them in Hevron in the presence of Adonai. Then they anointed David king over Isra’el, as Adonai had said through Sh’mu’el.

⁴ David and all Isra’el went to Yerushalayim, also known as Y’vus; and the Y’vusi, the inhabitants of that region, were there. ⁵ The inhabitants of Y’vus taunted David by saying, “You won’t get in here!” Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Tziyon, also known now as the City of David. ⁶ David said, “Whoever attacks the Y’vusi first will be commander-in-chief.” Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah attacked first and was made commander.

⁷ David lived in the stronghold; therefore they called it the City of David. ⁸ David built up the city around it, starting at the Millo [earth rampart] and going on around; while Yo’av repaired the rest of the city. ⁹ David grew greater and greater, because Adonai-Tzva’ot was with him.

¹⁰ These are David’s chief warriors, who, under his rulership, joined forces with him and with all Isra’el to make him king, as Adonai had said concerning Isra’el; ¹¹ here is the list of David’s warrior-heroes:

Yashov‘am son of a Hakhmoni, the chief officer; he is the one who raised his spear against 300 men and killed them in a single encounter.

¹² After him was El‘azar the son of Dodo the Achochi, one of the three warriors. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-Damim, where the P’lishtim had assembled for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley; and when the people fled from the P’lishtim, ¹⁴ they stood in the middle of the plot and defended it, killing the P’lishtim; and Adonai saved them with a great victory.

¹⁵ Three of the thirty leaders went down to the rock and came to David during harvest season at the cave of ‘Adulam when the army of the P’lishtim had set up camp in the Refa’im Valley. ¹⁶ At that time David was in the fortress, and the garrison of the P’lishtim was in Beit-Lechem. ¹⁷ David had a craving and said, “I wish someone could give me water to drink from the well by the gate of Beit-Lechem!” ¹⁸ The three broke through the army of the P’lishtim, drew water from the well by the gate of Beit-Lechem, took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it; instead, he poured it out to Adonai ¹⁹ and said, “My God forbid that I should do such a thing! Am I to drink the blood of these men who went and put their lives in jeopardy? They risked their lives to bring it!” — and he would not consent to drink it. These are the things the three warrior-heroes did.

²⁰ Avishai the brother of Yo’av was chief of these three. He raised his spear against 300 men and killed them; thus he had a reputation even among the three. ²¹ Of the three in the second rank he had the most honor and was therefore made their leader; however, he did not achieve the status of the first three.

²² B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, the son of a valiant man of Kavtze’el, was a man of many exploits. He struck down two lion-hearted men of Mo’av. One day when it was snowing, he went down into a pit and killed a lion. ²³ Here is how he killed an Egyptian, a man who was very tall, seven-and-a-half feet: the Egyptian had a spear in his hand the size of a weaver’s beam; he went down to him with only a stick, seized the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These are things that B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada did that earned him a name among the three warrior-heroes. ²⁵ He had more honor than the thirty, but he did not achieve the status of the first three. David put him in command of his personal guard.

²⁶ There were also these warrior-heroes:

12 Following are the men who joined David at Ziklag while he was still being kept away from Sha’ul the son of Kish; they were among the warriors who helped him fight his battles. ² They were archers who could use either hand to sling stones or shoot arrows from a bow; they were Sha’ul’s kinsmen from Binyamin. ³ Their leader was Achi‘ezer, then Yo’ash, the sons of Sh’ma‘ah the Giv‘ati, Y’zi’el, Pelet, the sons of ‘Azmavet, B’rakhah, Yehu from ‘Anatot, ⁴ Yishma‘yah the Giv‘oni, one of the strongest of the thirty and commander of the thirty, ^5 (4b) Yirmeyah, Yachzi’el, Yochanan, Yozavad from G’derah, ^6 (5) El‘uzai, Yerimot, B‘alyah, Sh’maryah, Sh’fatyah the Harufi, ^7 (6) Elkanah, Yishiyahu, ‘Azar’el, Yo‘ezer, Yashov‘am the Korchi, ^8 (7) and Yo‘elah and Z’vadyah the sons of Yerocham from G’dor.

^9 (8) From the Gadi a number of strong, brave, trained fighting men defected to David at the fortress in the desert. They could handle shield and spear, they were as fierce as lions, and they were as fast as deer on the hills: ^10 (9) ‘Ezer was the leader, ‘Ovadyah was second, Eli’av third, ^11 (10) Mishmanah fourth, Yirmeyah fifth, ^12 (11) ‘Atai sixth, Eli’el seventh, ^13 (12) Yochanan eighth, Elzavad ninth, ^14 (13) Yirmeyah tenth, and Makhbanai eleventh. ^15 (14) These descendants of Gad were army commanders; the least of them was worth a hundred, and the greatest worth a thousand. ^16 (15) These are the men who crossed the Yarden during the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks, and drove out all those who lived in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.

^17 (16) From the descendants of Binyamin and Y’hudah a number came to David at the fortress. ^18 (17) When David went out to meet them, he said, “If you are coming to me in peace to help me, my heart will be bonded to yours. But if you are coming to betray me to my enemies, then, since I have done nothing wrong, may the God of our fathers see it and judge.” ^19 (18) Then the Spirit covered ‘Amasai the chief commander, and he said:

David welcomed them and made them senior officers.

^20 (19) From M’nasheh some defected to David when he was about to go with the P’lishtim to fight against Sha’ul; but they ended up not helping them; because the rulers of the P’lishtim, after consultation, sent David away, saying, “He will defect to his master Sha’ul at the cost of our heads.” ^21 (20) As he was on his way to Ziklag, those who defected to him from M’nasheh included ‘Adnach, Yozavad, Y’dia‘el, Mikha’el, Yozavad, Elihu and Tziltai, commanders of thousands from M’nasheh. ^22 (21) They helped David against the raiding band, for they were all strong, brave men who were commanders in the army.

^23 (22) Indeed, reinforcements to assist David reached him daily, until there was a great army, like the army of God. ^24 (23) Following are the numbers of those who came armed for war to David in Hevron, in order to transfer to him the kingdom of Sha’ul, according to what Adonai had said.

^25 (24) The descendants of Y’hudah bearing shields and spears numbered 6,800, armed for war.

^26 (25) Of the descendants of Shim‘on, strong, brave men for war, there were 7,100.

^27 (26) Of the descendants of Levi, there were 4,600. ^28 (27) Y’hoyada was the leader of the house of Aharon, and with him were 3,700; ^29 (28) also Tzadok, a young man, strong and brave, with twenty-two commanders from his father’s family.

^30 (29) Of the descendants of Binyamin the kinsmen of Sha’ul, there were 3,000; for up until then, the majority of them had remained loyal to the house of Sha’ul.

^31 (30) Of the descendants of Efrayim, there were 20,800 strong, brave men, well known in their fathers’ families.

^32 (31) Of the half-tribe of M’nasheh, 18,000 were designated by name to come and make David king.

^33 (32) Of the descendants of Yissakhar, men who understood the times and knew what Isra’el ought to do, there were 200 leaders, and all their kinsmen were under their command.

^34 (33) Of Z’vulun, 50,000 men were fit for military service, experienced in war and able to use all kinds of weapons; they were brave, and none was doubleminded.

^35 (34) Of Naftali, there were 1,000 officers, and with them 37,000 troops having shields and spears.

^36 (35) Of Dan, 28,600 were experienced in war.

^37 (36) Of Asher, 40,000 men were fit for military service and experienced in war.

^38 (37) On the other side of the Yarden, from the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M’nasheh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons for battle.

^39 (38) All these soldiers who were experienced in war came to Hevron wholeheartedly to make David king over all Isra’el, and all the rest from Isra’el were single-hearted in wanting to make David king. ^40 (39) They remained there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen had prepared for them. ^41 (40) Moreover, those who were near them — and even those as far as Yissakhar, Z’vulun and Naftali — brought food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen: baked goods, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, oil, and oxen and sheep in abundance; for there was joy in Isra’el.