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.”

⁶ And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take ^(A)your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.”^[a]

² And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of ^(A)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.”

³⁰ So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because ^(A)he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

¹⁸ And the ^(A)three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was ^(B)as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.