David’s Mighty Men

^8 (A)These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the ^[a]captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; ⁹ and after him was Eleazar the son of ^(B)Dodo the ^(C)son of Ahohi, one of the three mighty men with David when they ^[b]reproached the Philistines who were gathered together there to battle and the men of Israel had gone up to retreat. ^10 (D)He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and ^[c]clung to the sword, and ^(E)Yahweh brought about a great salvation that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹ Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a ^(F)Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered ^[d]into a troop where there was a portion of the field full of lentils; and the people fled from before the Philistines. ¹² But he took his stand in the midst of that portion and delivered it and struck down the Philistines. So ^(G)Yahweh brought about a great salvation.

¹³ Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the ^(H)cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in ^(I)the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ And David was then ^(J)in the fortress, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ^15 (K)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!” ^16 (L)So the three mighty men 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, he was not willing to drink it, but ^(M)poured it out to Yahweh; ¹⁷ and he said, “Be it far from me, O Yahweh, that I should do this. ^(N)Shall I drink the blood of the men who went ^[e]at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

^18 (O)Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was ^(P)chief of the ^[f]thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred ^[g]who were slain by him; and he had a name as well as the three. ¹⁹ Of the thirty he was most honored and became their commander; however, he did not attain to the three.

²⁰ Then ^(Q)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of ^(R)Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the ^[h]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. ²¹ He had also struck down an Egyptian, ^[i]an impressive man. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear, 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 ^(S)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. ²³ He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.

^24 (T)Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (U)Shammah the ^(V)Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the ^(W)Tekoite, ²⁷ Abiezer the ^(X)Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the ^(Y)Netophathite, ^29 (Z)Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^(AA)Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah a ^(AB)Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of ^(AC)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the ^(AD)Barhumite, ³² Eliahba the ^(AE)Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ^33 (AF)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of ^(AG)the Maacathite, ^(AH)Eliam the son of ^(AI)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^35 (AJ)Hezro the ^(AK)Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan of ^(AL)Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the ^(AM)Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ³⁸ Ira the ^(AN)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^39 (AO)Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.

David Sins in Taking a Census

24 ^(AP)And ^(AQ)again the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “^(AR)Go, number Israel and Judah.” ² So the king said to Joab the commander of the military force who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, ^(AS)from Dan to Beersheba, and ^[j]take a census of the people, that I may know the total count of the people.” ³ But Joab said to the king, “^(AT)Now may Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” ⁴ Nevertheless, the king’s word stood strong against Joab and against the commanders of the military force. So Joab and the commanders of the military force went out from the presence of the king to ^[k]take a census of the people of Israel. ⁵ And they crossed the Jordan and camped in ^(AU)Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward ^(AV)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead and to ^[l]the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to ^(AW)Sidon, ⁷ and came to the ^(AX)fortified city of Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(AY)Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to ^(AZ)Beersheba. ⁸ So they had gone about through the whole land, and they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ And Joab gave ^(BA)the total count of the ^[m]census of the people to the king; and there were in Israel ^(BB)800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000 men.

¹⁰ Then ^(BC)David’s heart struck him after he had counted the people. So David said to Yahweh, “^(BD)I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Yahweh, please ^[n]take away the iniquity of Your slave, for ^(BE)I have acted very foolishly.” ¹¹ Then David arose in the morning, and the word of Yahweh came to ^(BF)the prophet Gad, David’s ^(BG)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do that to you.”’” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall ^(BH)seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your adversaries while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, know and see what word I should return to Him who sent me.” ¹⁴ Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Yahweh, ^(BI)for His compassions are abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵ So ^(BJ)Yahweh ^[o]sent a pestilence against Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and 70,000 men of the people ^(BK)from Dan to Beersheba died. ^16 (BL)Then the angel sent forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, and ^(BM)Yahweh ^[p]relented of the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of Yahweh was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ Then David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, ^(BN)it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done unrighteousness; but ^(BO)these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house.”

David Erects an Altar

¹⁸ So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “^(BP)Go up, erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of ^[q]Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David went up according to the word of Gad, just as Yahweh had commanded. ²⁰ And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. ²¹ Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to Yahweh, ^(BQ)that the plague may be checked from being upon the people.” ²² And Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, ^(BR)the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. ²³ Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your God ^(BS)accept you.” ²⁴ However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for ^(BT)I will not offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God ^[r]which cost me nothing.” So ^(BU)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty ^[s]shekels of silver. ²⁵ Then David built there an altar to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ^(BV)Thus Yahweh was moved by the entreaty for the land, and the plague was checked from being upon Israel.