²⁰ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty.^[a] And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother ^(A)Abishai the son of Zeruiah, ^(B)“Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

¹⁶ And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. ^(A)The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three.

¹⁸ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.^[a] And he wielded his spear against three hundred men^[b] and killed them and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹ He was the most renowned of the thirty^[c] and became their commander, but he did not attain to ^(A)the three.

²⁰ And ^(B)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[d] of ^(C)Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels^[e] of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹ And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³ He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

^24 (D)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (E)Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh ^(F)of Tekoa, ²⁷ Abiezer ^(G)of Anathoth, Mebunnai ^(H)the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon ^(I)the Ahohite, Maharai ^(J)of Netophah, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah ^(K)of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^(L)Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah ^(M)of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of ^(N)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of ^(O)Bahurim, ³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ^33 (P)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai ^(Q)of Maacah, ^(R)Eliam the son of ^(S)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵ Hezro^{[f] (T)}of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan ^(U)of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai ^(V)of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ^38 (W)Ira the ^(X)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^39 (Y)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

¹⁷ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, ^(A)“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench ^(B)the lamp of Israel.”