2 Samuel 23
New American Standard Bible
David’s Last Song
23 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
(A)The man who was raised on high,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, declares,
2 “(C)The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said it;
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘(E)He who rules over mankind righteously,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
4 (G)Is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
From sunshine after rain.’
5 Is my house not indeed so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Properly ordered in all things, and secured;
For will He not indeed make
All my salvation and all my delight grow?
6 (I)But the worthless, every one of them, are like scattered thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 Instead, the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (J)they will be completely burned with fire in their [b]place.”
David’s Mighty Men
8 (K)These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the [c]captains; he was called Adino the Eznite because of eight hundred who were killed by him at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of (L)Dodo the (M)Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had [d]withdrawn. 10 (N)He rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and [e]it clung to the sword, and (O)the Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder the dead.
11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee, a (P)Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered [f]into an army where there was a plot of land full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines; and (Q)the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David at harvest time to the (R)cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camping in (S)the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then (T)in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And (U)David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 (V)So the three mighty men forced their way into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and carried it and brought it to David. Yet he would not drink it, but (W)poured it out as an offering to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Far be it from me, Lord, that I would do this! (X)Should I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
18 Now (Y)Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was (Z)chief of the [g]thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred [h]and killed them, and had a name [i]as well as the three. 19 He was the most honored among the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the reputation of the three.
20 Then (AA)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of (AB)Kabzeel, who had done great deeds, [j]killed the [k]two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he [l]killed an Egyptian, [m]an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things (AC)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name [n]as well as the three mighty men. 23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the three. And David appointed him over his bodyguard.
24 (AD)Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; and there was Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 (AE)Shammah the (AF)Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the (AG)Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the (AH)Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the (AI)Netophathite, 29 (AJ)Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of (AK)Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a (AL)Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of (AM)Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the (AN)Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the (AO)Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 (AP)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of (AQ)the Maacathite, (AR)Eliam the son of (AS)Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 (AT)Hezro the (AU)Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of (AV)Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the (AW)Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the (AX)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and (AY)Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit filled
- 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit sitting
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Or three
- 2 Samuel 23:9 Lit gone up
- 2 Samuel 23:10 Lit his hand
- 2 Samuel 23:11 Or possibly, at Lehi
- 2 Samuel 23:18 As in two Heb mss and Syriac; MT three
- 2 Samuel 23:18 Lit slain ones
- 2 Samuel 23:18 Lit among the
- 2 Samuel 23:20 Lit struck
- 2 Samuel 23:20 Or two warriors of Moab
- 2 Samuel 23:21 Lit struck
- 2 Samuel 23:21 Lit a man of appearance
- 2 Samuel 23:22 Lit among the
2 Samuel 23
New Living Translation
David’s Last Words
23 These are the last words of David:
“David, the son of Jesse, speaks—
David, the man who was raised up so high,
David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
David, the sweet psalmist of Israel.[a]
2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me;
his words are upon my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke.
The Rock of Israel said to me:
‘The one who rules righteously,
who rules in the fear of God,
4 is like the light of morning at sunrise,
like a morning without clouds,
like the gleaming of the sun
on new grass after rain.’
5 “Is it not my family God has chosen?
Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me.
His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail.
He will ensure my safety and success.
6 But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away,
for they tear the hand that touches them.
7 One must use iron tools to chop them down;
they will be totally consumed by fire.”
David’s Mightiest Warriors
8 These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite,[b] who was leader of the Three[c]—the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle.[d]
9 Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. 10 He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!
11 Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, 12 but Shammah[e] held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. 14 David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.
15 David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” 16 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. 17 “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men[f] who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.
David’s Thirty Mighty Men
18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty.[g] He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three. 19 Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty[h] and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.
20 There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior[i] from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions[j] of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. 21 Once, armed only with a club, he killed an imposing Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. 22 Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors. 23 He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.
24 Other members of the Thirty included:
Asahel, Joab’s brother;
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem;
25 Shammah from Harod;
Elika from Harod;
26 Helez from Pelon[k];
Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa;
27 Abiezer from Anathoth;
Sibbecai[l] from Hushah;
28 Zalmon from Ahoah;
Maharai from Netophah;
29 Heled[m] son of Baanah from Netophah;
Ithai[n] son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin);
30 Benaiah from Pirathon;
Hurai[o] from Nahale-gaash[p];
31 Abi-albon from Arabah;
Azmaveth from Bahurim;
32 Eliahba from Shaalbon;
the sons of Jashen;
Jonathan 33 son of Shagee[q] from Harar;
Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar;
34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai from Maacah;
Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh;
35 Hezro from Carmel;
Paarai from Arba;
36 Igal son of Nathan from Zobah;
Bani from Gad;
37 Zelek from Ammon;
Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;
38 Ira from Jattir;
Gareb from Jattir;
39 Uriah the Hittite.
There were thirty-seven in all.
Footnotes
- 23:1 Or the favorite subject of the songs of Israel; or the favorite of the Strong One of Israel.
- 23:8a As in parallel text at 1 Chr 11:11; Hebrew reads Josheb-basshebeth the Tahkemonite.
- 23:8b As in Greek and Latin versions (see also 1 Chr 11:11); the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 23:8c As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 1 Chr 11:11); the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain, though it might be rendered the Three. It was Adino the Eznite who killed 800 men at one time.
- 23:12 Hebrew he.
- 23:17 Hebrew Shall I drink the blood of these men?
- 23:18 As in a few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version; most Hebrew manuscripts read the Three.
- 23:19 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads the Three.
- 23:20a Or son of Jehoiada, son of Ish-hai.
- 23:20b Hebrew two of Ariel.
- 23:26 As in parallel text at 1 Chr 11:27 (see also 1 Chr 27:10); Hebrew reads from Palti.
- 23:27 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 1 Chr 11:29); Hebrew reads Mebunnai.
- 23:29a As in some Hebrew manuscripts (see also 1 Chr 11:30); most Hebrew manuscripts read Heleb.
- 23:29b As in parallel text at 1 Chr 11:31; Hebrew reads Ittai.
- 23:30a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 1 Chr 11:32); Hebrew reads Hiddai.
- 23:30b Or from the ravines of Gaash.
- 23:33 As in parallel text at 1 Chr 11:34; Hebrew reads Jonathan, Shammah; some Greek manuscripts read Jonathan son of Shammah.
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