David Anointed King

11 (A)Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, (B)‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, (C)according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

David Takes Jerusalem

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, (D)that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, (E)the inhabitants of the land. The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first (F)shall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. And David (G)became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

David's Mighty Men

10 (H)Now these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, (I)according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. 11 This is an account of David's mighty men: (J)Jashobeam, a (K)Hachmonite, was (L)chief of the three.[a] He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time.

12 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of (M)Dodo, the Ahohite. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim (N)when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. 14 But he took his[b] stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the Lord saved them by a great victory.

15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the (O)Valley of Rephaim. 16 David was then in the stronghold, and the (P)garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 17 And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord 19 and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

20 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty.[c] And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. 21 He was the most renowned[d] of the thirty[e] and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

22 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man[f] of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 23 And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits[g] tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear (Q)like a weaver's beam, 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. 24 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. 25 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

26 The mighty men were (R)Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 27 Shammoth of Harod,[h] Helez the Pelonite, 28 Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, 29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, 30 Maharai of Netophah, Heled the son of Baanah of Netophah, 31 Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, 32 Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, 33 Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, 34 Hashem[i] the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, 35 Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, 37 Hezro of Carmel, Naarai the son of Ezbai, 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of (S)Hagri, 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41 Uriah the Hittite, (T)Zabad the son of Ahlai, 42 Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, 43 Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45 Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 11:11 Compare 2 Samuel 23:8; Hebrew thirty, or captains
  2. 1 Chronicles 11:14 Compare 2 Samuel 23:12; Hebrew they… their
  3. 1 Chronicles 11:20 Syriac; Hebrew three
  4. 1 Chronicles 11:21 Compare 2 Samuel 23:19; Hebrew more renowned among the two
  5. 1 Chronicles 11:21 Syriac; Hebrew three
  6. 1 Chronicles 11:22 Syriac; Hebrew the son of a valiant man
  7. 1 Chronicles 11:23 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  8. 1 Chronicles 11:27 Compare 2 Samuel 23:25; Hebrew the Harorite
  9. 1 Chronicles 11:34 Compare Septuagint and 2 Samuel 23:32; Hebrew the sons of Hashem

David’s Anointing as King

11 All Israel(A) came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.[a] Even previously when Saul was king, you were leading Israel out to battle and bringing us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over my people Israel.’”

So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the Lord’s word through Samuel.(B)

David’s Capture of Jerusalem

David(C) and all Israel marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus); the Jebusites who inhabited the land were there.(D) The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.

David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab(E) son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief.

Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David. He built up the city all the way around, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding parts, and Joab restored the rest of the city. David steadily grew more powerful,(F) and the Lord of Armies was with him.

Exploits of David’s Warriors

10 The following were the chiefs of David’s warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the Lord’s word about Israel.(G) 11 This(H) is the list of David’s warriors:

Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief(I) of the Thirty;[b] he wielded his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.

12 After him, Eleazar son of Dodo(J) the Ahohite was one of the three warriors. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.(K) 14 But Eleazar and David[c] took their stand in the middle of the field and defended it. They killed the Philistines, and the Lord gave them a great victory.

15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam,(L) while the Philistine army was encamped in Rephaim Valley.(M) 16 At that time David was in the stronghold,(N) and a Philistine garrison(O) was at Bethlehem. 17 David was extremely thirsty[d] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord. 19 David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of my God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

20 Abishai,(P) Joab’s brother, was the leader of the Three.[e] He raised his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. 21 He was more honored than the Three and became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada(Q) was the son of a brave man[f] from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab,[g] and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 23 He also killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall.[h] Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand like a weaver’s beam,(R) Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear. 24 These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors. 25 He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

26 The best soldiers(S) were

Joab’s brother Asahel,(T)

Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

27 Shammoth the Harorite,

Helez the Pelonite,

28 Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

Abiezer the Anathothite,

29 Sibbecai the Hushathite,

Ilai the Ahohite,

30 Maharai the Netophathite,

Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,

31 Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjaminites,

Benaiah the Pirathonite,

32 Hurai from the wadis of Gaash,

Abiel the Arbathite,

33 Azmaveth the Baharumite,

Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

34 the sons of[i](U) Hashem the Gizonite,

Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite,

35 Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite,

Eliphal son of Ur,

36 Hepher the Mecherathite,

Ahijah the Pelonite,

37 Hezro the Carmelite,

Naarai son of Ezbai,

38 Joel the brother of Nathan,

Mibhar son of Hagri,

39 Zelek the Ammonite,

Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer for Joab son of Zeruiah,

40 Ira the Ithrite,

Gareb the Ithrite,

41 Uriah the Hethite,

Zabad son of Ahlai,

42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him,

43 Hanan son of Maacah,

Joshaphat the Mithnite,

44 Uzzia the Ashterathite,

Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,

45 Jediael son of Shimri and his brother Joha the Tizite,

46 Eliel the Mahavite,

Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam,

Ithmah the Moabite,

47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

Footnotes

  1. 11:1 Lit your bone and your flesh
  2. 11:11 Alt Hb tradition reads Three
  3. 11:14 Lit But they
  4. 11:17 Lit And David craved
  5. 11:20 Syr reads Thirty
  6. 11:22 Or was a valiant man
  7. 11:22 Or He killed two Moabite warriors
  8. 11:23 Lit who measured five cubits
  9. 11:34 LXX omits the sons of; 2Sm 23:32