David Anointed King of Israel^(A)

11 All Israel gathered around David at Hebron. “We are your own flesh and blood,” they said. ² “Even in the past when Saul ruled, you were the one who led Israel on its campaigns to war. The Lord your God has said to you, ‘You will be shepherd of my people Israel, the leader of my people Israel.’ ”

³ All the leaders of Israel had come to Hebron. David made an agreement with them at Hebron in front of the Lord. So they anointed David king of Israel, as the Lord had spoken through Samuel.

David Captures Jerusalem^(B)

⁴ David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). The Jebusites were living in that region. ⁵ They told David, “You will never get in here.” But David captured the fortress Zion (that is, the City of David).

⁶ Now, David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will be made a general and a prince.” Zeruiah’s son Joab was the first to go ⌞into Jerusalem⌟, so he became the general.

⁷ David lived in the fortress, so it was called the City of David. ⁸ He built the city ⌞of Jerusalem⌟ around it, starting from the Millo ^[a] and making a complete circuit. Joab rebuilt the rest of the city. ⁹ David continued to grow more powerful because the Lord of Armies was with him.

David’s Three Fighting Men^(C)

¹⁰ Now, these were the commanders of David’s fighting men, who exercised power with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel they made him king according to the Lord’s word to Israel. ¹¹ The first of David’s fighting men was Jashobeam, son of Hachmon, the leader of the three.^[b] He used his spear to kill 300 men on one occasion. ¹² Next in rank to him was Eleazar, another one of the three fighting men. He was the son of Dodo and grandson of Aho. ¹³ Eleazar was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. There was a field of ripe barley. When the troops fled from the Philistines, ¹⁴ they stood in the middle of the field and defended it by killing Philistines. So the Lord saved ⌞them⌟ with an impressive victory. ¹⁵ Once three of the thirty leading men went down to David’s rock at the cave of Adullam when the army of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ While David was in the fortified camp, Philistine troops were in Bethlehem.

¹⁷ David was thirsty and said, “I wish I could have a drink of water from the cistern at the city gate of Bethlehem.” ¹⁸ So the three burst into the Philistine camp and drew water from the cistern. They brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out ⌞as an offering⌟ to the Lord ¹⁹ and said, “It’s unthinkable that I would do this, God. Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? They had to risk their lives to get this water.” So he refused to drink it.

These are the things which the three fighting men did.

David’s Thirty Fighting Men^(D)

²⁰ Joab’s brother Abishai was the leader of the thirty. He used his spear to kill 300 men, but he was not one of the three, ²¹ although he was honored more than they were. So he became their captain but didn’t become a member of the three.

²² Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was from Kabzeel and was a brave man who did many things. He killed two distinguished soldiers from Moab. He also went into a cistern and killed a lion on the day it snowed. ²³ He killed an eight-foot-tall Egyptian. The Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s beam in his hand. But Benaiah went to him with a club, grabbed the spear away from him, and killed him with it. ²⁴ These are the things that Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, did. He was as famous as the three fighting men. ²⁵ He was honored more than the thirty, but he was not a member of the three. David put him in charge of his bodyguards.

²⁶ The distinguished fighting men were

The Men Who Helped David Become King

12 These are the men who came to David at Ziklag when he was banished by Saul, son of Kish. They were among the soldiers who went into battle with David. ² They were armed with bows and could sling stones or shoot arrows with either their right or their left hands. They were Saul’s relatives, ⌞from the tribe of⌟ Benjamin. ³ Ahiezer was the leader, then Joash (they were the sons of Shemaah from Gibeah), Azmaveth’s sons Jeziel and Pelet, Beracah and Jehu from Anathoth, ⁴ Ishmaiah from Gibeon (one of the thirty fighting men and one of their leaders),^[c] Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah, ⁵ Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam (Korah’s descendants), ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah, Jeroham’s sons from Gedor.

⁸ Some men left Gad to join David at the fortified camp in the desert. They were warriors, trained soldiers, able to fight with shields and spears. They looked like lions and were as fast as gazelles on the hills. ⁹ Ezer was the first of these soldiers. The second was Obadiah. The third was Eliab. ¹⁰ The fourth was Mishmannah. The fifth was Jeremiah. ¹¹ The sixth was Attai. The seventh was Eliel. ¹² The eighth was Johanan. The ninth was Elzabad. ¹³ The tenth was Jeremiah. The eleventh was Machbannai. ¹⁴ These descendants of Gad were army officers. The least able one was in command of 100 men, and the best one was in command of 1,000. ¹⁵ In the first month of the year, these men crossed the Jordan River when it was flooding its banks. They chased away all the people in the valleys to the east and west.

¹⁶ Some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the fortified camp. ¹⁷ David went to meet them. He told them, “If you’ve come to help me as friends would, then you may join me. But if you’ve come to betray me to my enemies, even though I haven’t committed a crime, may the God of our ancestors see this and judge you.”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit gave Amasai, the leader of the thirty, the strength ⌞to say⌟,

So David welcomed them and made them officers over his troops.

¹⁹ Some men from Manasseh had deserted ⌞Saul’s army⌟ to join David when he went with the Philistines to attack Saul. (However, David didn’t help the Philistines because their rulers sent him away after considering the matter. They said, “It will cost us our heads when he deserts and joins his master Saul.”) ²⁰ When David went to Ziklag, these men from Manasseh deserted to join him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each one was an officer over 1,000 men in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David fight raiding parties because they were all warriors, commanders in the army. ²² From day to day, men came to help David until he had an army as large as God’s army.

²³ These are the numbers of the men equipped for war. The men joined David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingship over to David, as the Lord had said.

²⁴ From Judah’s descendants there were 6,800 men equipped for war. They carried shields and spears.

²⁵ From Simeon’s descendants there were 7,100 warriors.

²⁶ From Levi’s descendants there were 4,600 ²⁷ as well as Jehoiada (leader of Aaron’s families). With him there were 3,700 men, ²⁸ and Zadok, a young warrior from whose family came 22 officers.

²⁹ From Benjamin’s descendants, Saul’s relatives, there were 3,000 men, though most of them remained loyal to Saul’s family. ³⁰ From Ephraim’s descendants there were 20,800 warriors who were famous among their families.

³¹ From half of the tribe of Manasseh there were 18,000 who had been designated by name to make David king.

³² From Issachar’s descendants there were 200 leaders who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. Their relatives were under their command.

³³ From Zebulun there were 50,000 experienced soldiers. They were equipped for battle with every kind of weapon. Their loyalty was unquestioned.

³⁴ From Naphtali there were 1,000 commanders. With them were 37,000 who fought with shields and spears.

³⁵ From Dan there were 28,600 ready for battle.

³⁶ From Asher there were 40,000 experienced soldiers ready for battle.

³⁷ From the east side of the Jordan River, from Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 soldiers ready to fight with all kinds of weapons.

³⁸ All of these soldiers, who were prepared for battle, came with a single purpose to Hebron—to make David king of all Israel. The rest of Israel also had agreed to make David king. ³⁹ They ate and drank with David for three days because their relatives ⌞in Judah⌟ had provided enough for them. ⁴⁰ Also, their neighbors as far as the territories of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. There was plenty of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, and sheep, because Israel was celebrating.