1 Chronicles 12
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
David’s First Supporters
12 The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish.(A) They were among the warriors who helped him in battle. 2 They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow.(B) They were Saul’s relatives(C) from Benjamin:
3 Their chief was Ahiezer son of Shemaah the Gibeathite.
Then there was his brother Joash;
Jeziel and Pelet sons of Azmaveth;
Beracah, Jehu the Anathothite;
4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty;
Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite;
5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite;
6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites;
7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.
8 Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were valiant warriors, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.(D)
9 Ezer was the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third,
10 Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth,
11 Attai sixth, Eliel seventh,
12 Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth,
13 Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh.
14 These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand.(E) 15 These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month[a] when it was overflowing all its banks,(F) and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.
16 Other Benjaminites and men from Judah also went to David at the stronghold.(G) 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, ‘If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.’
18 Then the Spirit enveloped[b](H) Amasai,(I) chief of the Thirty, and he said:
We are yours, David,
we are with you, son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
and peace to him who helps you,(J)
for your God helps you.
So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.
19 Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, ‘It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.’(K) 20 When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. 21 They helped David against the raiders,(L) for they were all valiant warriors and commanders in the army. 22 At that time, men came day after day to help David until there was a great army, like an army of God.[c](M)
David’s Soldiers in Hebron
23 The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him,(N) according to the Lord’s word,(O) were as follows:
24 From the Judahites: 6,800 armed troops bearing shields and spears.
25 From the Simeonites: 7,100 valiant warriors ready for war.
26 From the Levites: 4,600 27 in addition to Jehoiada, leader of the house of Aaron, with 3,700 men; 28 and Zadok,(P) a young valiant warrior, with 22 commanders from his ancestral family.[d]
29 From the Benjaminites, the relatives of Saul:(Q) 3,000 (up to that time the majority of the Benjaminites maintained their allegiance to the house of Saul).
30 From the Ephraimites: 20,800 valiant warriors who were famous men in their ancestral families.[e]
31 From half the tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.
32 From the Issacharites, who understood the times(R) and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.
33 From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose(S) to help David.[f]
34 From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.
35 From the Danites: 28,600 trained for battle.
36 From Asher: 40,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle.
37 From across the Jordan – from the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: 120,000 men equipped with all the military weapons of war.
38 All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron wholeheartedly determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.(T) 39 They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them. 40 In addition, their neighbours from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen – abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, herds, and flocks.(U) Indeed, there was joy in Israel.
1 Chronicles 12
Expanded Bible
Warriors Join David
12 These were the men who came to David at Ziklag when David was ·hiding [banished; kept away] from Saul son of Kish. They were among the ·warriors [champions] who helped David in battle. 2 They ·came [were armed/equipped] with bows for weapons and could use either their right or left hands to shoot arrows or to sling rocks. They were Saul’s relatives from the tribe of Benjamin. 3 Ahiezer was their ·leader [chief], and there was Joash. (Ahiezer and Joash were sons of Shemaah, who was from the town of Gibeah.) There were also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth. There were Beracah and Jehu from the town of Anathoth. 4 And there was Ishmaiah from the town of Gibeon; he was one of the Thirty. In fact, he was the leader of the Thirty. There were Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah. 5 There were Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, and Shemariah. There was Shephatiah from Haruph. 6 There were Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam from the ·family group of Korah [L Korahites]. 7 And there were Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham, from the town of Gedor.
8 Part of the people of Gad joined David at his stronghold in the ·desert [wilderness]. They were ·brave warriors [L mighty men of valor] trained for war and ·skilled [expert] with shields and spears. They ·were as fierce as [L had faces of] lions and as ·fast [swift; or nimble] as gazelles over the hills.
9 Ezer was the leader of Gad’s army, and Obadiah was second in command. Eliab was third, 10 Mishmannah was fourth, Jeremiah was fifth, 11 Attai was sixth, Eliel was seventh, 12 Johanan was eighth, Elzabad was ninth, 13 Jeremiah was tenth, and Macbannai was eleventh in command.
14 They were the ·commanders [leaders; captains] of the army from Gad. The least of these leaders ·was in charge of [or was a match for; could take on; L was equal to] a hundred soldiers, and the greatest ·was in charge of [or was a match for; could take on; L was equal to] a thousand. 15 They crossed the Jordan River and ·chased away [drove out; put to flight] the people living in the ·valleys [lowlands], to the east and to the west. This happened in the first month of the year when the Jordan ·floods the valley [was overflowing its banks].
16 ·Other people from the tribes [L Some of the sons] of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at his stronghold. 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to help me, ·I welcome you. Join me. […I am your friend; or we will make an alliance; L my heart will be united with you]. But if you have come to ·turn me over to my enemies [betray me to my adversaries], even though I have ·done nothing wrong [L no violence in my hands], the God of our ·ancestors [L fathers] will see this and ·punish you [L judge/decide].”
18 Then the Spirit ·entered [came upon; L clothed] Amasai, the ·leader [chief] of the Thirty, and he said:
“We ·belong to you [are yours], David.
We are with you, son of Jesse.
·Success, success [Peace and prosperity] to you.
·Success [Peace] to those who help you,
because your God helps you.”
So David ·welcomed [received] these men and made them ·leaders [captains] of his ·army [fighters; raiders].
19 Some of the men from Manasseh also ·joined [defected/deserted to] David when he went with the Philistines to fight Saul. But David and his men did not really help the Philistines. After ·talking about it [consultation], the Philistine leaders decided to send David away. They said, “If David ·goes [defects; deserts] back to his master Saul, ·we will be killed [L it will be our heads].” 20 These are the men from Manasseh who ·joined [defected/deserted to] David when he went to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each of them was a ·leader [captain; chief] of a thousand men from Manasseh. 21 All these men of Manasseh were ·brave soldiers [L mighty men of valor], and they helped David fight against ·groups of men who went around the country robbing people [raiding bands]. These soldiers became ·commanders [captains] in David’s army. 22 Every day more men ·joined [came to help] David, and his army became ·large [great], like the army of God.
Others Join David at Hebron
23 These are the numbers of the soldiers ·ready [armed] for battle who ·joined [came to] David at Hebron. They came to help turn the kingdom of Saul over to David, ·just as the Lord had said [L according to the word of the Lord].
24 There were sixty-eight hundred armed ·men from [L descendants/sons of] Judah, carrying shields and spears.
25 There were seventy-one hundred men from Simeon. They were ·warriors [L mighty men of valor] ready for war.
26 There were forty-six hundred ·men from [L descendants/sons of] Levi. 27 Jehoiada, a leader from Aaron’s family, was in that group. There were thirty-seven hundred with him. 28 Zadok was also in that group. He was a ·strong [brave] young warrior, and with him came twenty-two leaders from his ·family [L father’s house].
29 There were three thousand men from Benjamin, who were Saul’s ·relatives [kinsmen; L brothers]. Most of them had ·remained loyal [kept their allegiance] to Saul’s ·family [L house] until then.
30 There were twenty thousand eight hundred ·men from [L sons of] Ephraim. They were brave warriors and were famous men in their ·own family groups [clans].
31 There were eighteen thousand men from ·West [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh. Each one was ·especially chosen [L designated by name] to make David king.
32 There were two hundred leaders from Issachar. They knew what Israel should do, and they ·knew the right time to do it [or understood the times]. Their ·relatives [kinsmen; L brothers] were with them and under their command.
33 There were fifty thousand men from Zebulun. They were ·trained [skilled] soldiers and ·knew how to use [equipped with] every kind of weapon of war. They followed David ·completely [with undivided loyalty/heart].
34 There were one thousand ·officers [commanders; captains] from Naphtali. They had thirty-seven thousand soldiers with them who carried shields and spears.
35 There were twenty-eight thousand six hundred men from Dan, who were ready for ·war [battle].
36 There were forty thousand trained soldiers from Asher, who were ready for ·war [battle].
37 There were one hundred twenty thousand soldiers from the east side of the Jordan River from the people of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh. They had every kind of weapon.
38 All these fighting men were ready to go to war. They came to Hebron ·fully agreed [determined; L with a complete/perfect heart] to make David king of all Israel. All the other Israelites also ·agreed [L were of one mind] to make David king. 39 They spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, because their ·relatives [kinsmen; L brothers] had prepared food for them. 40 Also, their neighbors came from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought much flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, oil, ·cows [oxen; cattle], and sheep, because ·the people of Israel were very happy [there was great joy in Israel].
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