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11 And gathered are all Israel unto David to Hebron, saying, `Lo, thy bone and thy flesh [are] we;

even in time past, even in Saul's being king, it is thou who art taking out and bringing in Israel, and Jehovah thy God saith to thee: Thou dost feed My people Israel, and thou art leader over My people Israel.'

And all the elders of Israel come in unto the king to Hebron, and David maketh with them a covenant in Hebron before Jehovah, and they anoint David for king over Israel, according to the word of Jehovah by the hand of Samuel.

And David goeth, and all Israel, to Jerusalem -- it [is] Jebus -- and there the Jebusite, the inhabitants of the land.

And the inhabitants of Jebus say to David, `Thou dost not come in hither;' and David captureth the fortress of Zion -- it [is] the city of David.

And David saith, `Whoever smiteth the Jebusite first doth become head and prince;' and go up first doth Joab son of Zeruiah and becometh head.

And David dwelleth in the fortress, therefore they have called it, `City of David;'

and he buildeth the city round about, from Millo, and unto the circumference, and Joab restoreth the rest of the city.

And David goeth, going on and becoming great, and Jehovah of Hosts [is] with him.

10 And these [are] heads of the mighty ones whom David hath, who are strengthening themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to cause him to reign, according to the word of Jehovah, over Israel.

11 And this [is] an account of the mighty ones whom David hath: Jashobeam son of a Hachmonite [is] head of the thirty; he is lifting up his spear against three hundred -- wounded, at one time.

12 And after him [is] Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite, he [is] among the three mighty;

13 he hath been with David in Pas-Dammim, and the Philistines have been gathered there to battle, and a portion of the field is full of barley, and the people have fled from the face of the Philistines,

14 and they station themselves in the midst of the portion, and deliver it, and smite the Philistines, and Jehovah saveth -- a great salvation.

15 And three of the thirty heads go down on the rock unto David, unto the cave of Adullam, and the host of the Philistines is encamping in the valley of Rephaim,

16 and David [is] then in the fortress, and the station of the Philistines [is] then in Beth-Lehem,

17 and David longeth, and saith, `Who doth give me to drink water from the well of Beth-Lehem, that [is] at the gate!'

18 And the three break through the camp of the Philistines, and draw water from the well of Beth-Lehem, that [is] at the gate, and bear and bring in unto David, and David hath not been willing to drink it, and poureth it out to Jehovah,

19 and saith, `Far be it from me, by my God, to do this; the blood of these men do I drink with their lives? for with their lives they have brought it;' and he was not willing to drink it; these [things] did the three mighty ones.

20 And Abishai brother of Joab, he hath been head of the three: and he is lifting up his spear against three hundred -- wounded, and hath a name among three.

21 Of the three by the two he is honoured, and becometh their head; and unto the [first] three he hath not come.

22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, son of a man of valour, of great deeds, from Kabzeel: he hath smitten the two lion-like Moabites, and he hath gone down and smitten the lion in the midst of the pit, in the day of snow.

23 And he hath smitten the man, the Egyptian -- a man of measure, five by the cubit -- and in the hand of the Egyptian [is] a spear like a beam of weavers, and he goeth down unto him with a rod, and taketh violently away the spear out of the hand of the Egyptian, and slayeth him with his own spear.

24 These [things] hath Benaiah son of Jehoiada done, and hath a name among the three mighty ones.

25 Of the thirty, lo, he [is] honoured, and unto the [first] three he hath not come, and David setteth him over his guard.

26 And the mighty ones of the forces [are] Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Beth-Lehem,

27 Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,

28 Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abi-Ezer the Annethothite,

29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,

30 Maharai the Netophathite, Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,

31 Ithai son of Ribai of Gibeah, of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,

32 Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,

33 Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

34 the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shage the Hararite,

35 Ahiam son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur,

36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,

37 Hezor the Carmelite, Naarai son of Ezbai,

38 Joel brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Haggeri,

39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, bearer of the weapons of Joab son of Zeruiah,

40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai,

42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, head of the Reubenites, and by him thirty,

43 Hanan son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,

44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jehiel sons of Hothan the Aroerite,

45 Jediael son of Shimri, and Joha his brother the Tizite,

46 Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite,

47 Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mesobaite.

David Becomes King Over Israel(A)

11 All Israel(B) came together to David at Hebron(C) and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, even while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns.(D) And the Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd(E) my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.(F)’”

When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, he made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed(G) David king over Israel, as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

David Conquers Jerusalem(H)

David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). The Jebusites(I) who lived there said to David, “You will not get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

David had said, “Whoever leads the attack on the Jebusites will become commander in chief.” Joab(J) son of Zeruiah went up first, and so he received the command.

David then took up residence in the fortress, and so it was called the City of David. He built up the city around it, from the terraces[a](K) to the surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city. And David became more and more powerful,(L) because the Lord Almighty was with him.

David’s Mighty Warriors(M)

10 These were the chiefs of David’s mighty warriors—they, together with all Israel,(N) gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised(O) 11 this is the list of David’s mighty warriors:(P)

Jashobeam,[b] a Hakmonite, was chief of the officers[c]; he raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.

12 Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three mighty warriors. 13 He was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place where there was a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines. 14 But they took their stand in the middle of the field. They defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.(Q)

15 Three of the thirty chiefs came down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley(R) of Rephaim. 16 At that time David was in the stronghold,(S) and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 17 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured(T) it out to the Lord. 19 “God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

20 Abishai(U) the brother of Joab was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. 21 He was doubly honored above the Three and became their commander, even though he was not included among them.

22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,(V) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.(W) 23 And he struck down an Egyptian who was five cubits[d] tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod(X) in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 24 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. 25 He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

26 The mighty warriors were:

Asahel(Y) the brother of Joab,

Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,

27 Shammoth(Z) the Harorite,

Helez the Pelonite,

28 Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,

Abiezer(AA) from Anathoth,

29 Sibbekai(AB) the Hushathite,

Ilai the Ahohite,

30 Maharai the Netophathite,

Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,

31 Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin,

Benaiah(AC) the Pirathonite,(AD)

32 Hurai from the ravines of Gaash,

Abiel the Arbathite,

33 Azmaveth the Baharumite,

Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

34 the sons of Hashem the Gizonite,

Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite,

35 Ahiam son of Sakar the Hararite,

Eliphal son of Ur,

36 Hepher the Mekerathite,

Ahijah the Pelonite,

37 Hezro the Carmelite,

Naarai son of Ezbai,

38 Joel the brother of Nathan,

Mibhar son of Hagri,

39 Zelek the Ammonite,

Naharai the Berothite, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,

40 Ira the Ithrite,

Gareb the Ithrite,

41 Uriah(AE) the Hittite,

Zabad(AF) son of Ahlai,

42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, who was chief of the Reubenites, and the thirty with him,

43 Hanan son of Maakah,

Joshaphat the Mithnite,

44 Uzzia the Ashterathite,(AG)

Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,

45 Jediael son of Shimri,

his brother Joha the Tizite,

46 Eliel the Mahavite,

Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam,

Ithmah the Moabite,

47 Eliel, Obed and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 11:8 Or the Millo
  2. 1 Chronicles 11:11 Possibly a variant of Jashob-Baal
  3. 1 Chronicles 11:11 Or Thirty; some Septuagint manuscripts Three (see also 2 Samuel 23:8)
  4. 1 Chronicles 11:23 That is, about 7 feet 6 inches or about 2.3 meters