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17 David went out to meet them. He said to them, ‘I hope that you have come here as my friends. If you have come to help me, I will make an agreement with you. But I hope that you have not come here to help my enemies and to tell them where I am hiding. I have not done anything wrong. So I pray that the God of our ancestors will see what you do. He will punish you as you deserve!’

18 Then God's Spirit came to Amasai with power. He was the leader of the 30 great soldiers. He said,

‘We will serve you, David, Jesse's son.
We have come to help you!
May God bless you!
May God bless those who help you!
Yes, your God will help you.’

So David accepted them as his friends. He made them officers in his army.

The men of Manasseh's tribe who joined David's army

19 Some men from Manasseh's tribe also joined David's army. That was at the time when David joined with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But David and his men were not able to help the Philistines like that. That was because the leaders of the Philistines decided to send David and his men away. They said, ‘David may turn against us and go to help his master Saul, instead. If he does that, we will all be dead!’

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