David Anointed King over All Israel

11 ^(A)Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron ^[a]and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. ² Previously, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh your God said to you, ‘^(B)You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over My people Israel.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David cut a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; then ^(C)they anointed David king over Israel, ^(D)according to the word of Yahweh through Samuel.

David Captures Jerusalem

⁴ Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (^(E)that is, Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ Then the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁶ And David said, “Whoever strikes down a Jebusite first shall be chief and commander.” ^(F)Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷ Then David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸ And he ^[b]built the city all around, from the ^[c]Millo even to the surrounding area; and Joab ^[d]repaired the rest of the city. ^9 (G)And David became greater and greater, and Yahweh of hosts was with him.

David’s Mighty Men

^10 (H)Now these are the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, ^(I)according to the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. ¹¹ These constitute the list of the mighty men whom David had: ^(J)Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, ^(K)the chief of the thirty; he lifted up his spear against three hundred ^[e]slain by him at one time.

¹² And after him was Eleazar the son of ^(L)Dodo, the Ahohite, who was ^[f]one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at ^[g]Pasdammim. ^(M)Now the Philistines had gathered together there to battle, and there was a portion of the field full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. ¹⁴ But they took their stand in the midst of that portion and delivered it, and struck down the Philistines. So Yahweh saved them by a great salvation.

¹⁵ Then three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam, while ^(N)the camp of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ And David was then in the fortress, while ^(O)the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ Then 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!” ¹⁸ So the three broke through 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. Nevertheless, David was not willing to drink it, but poured it out to Yahweh; ¹⁹ and he said, “Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went ^[h]at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

²⁰ Now ^[i]Abshai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the ^[j]thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred ^[k]who were slain by him; and he had a name as well as the ^[l]thirty. ²¹ Of the three in the second rank he was the most honored and became their commander; however, he did not attain to the first three.

^22 (P)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the ^[m]two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. ²³ He had also struck down an Egyptian, ^[n]an impressive man, ^[o]five cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was ^(Q)a spear like a weaver’s beam, 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. ²⁴ These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. ²⁵ Behold, he was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.

²⁶ Now the mighty men of the military forces were