Warriors Join David

12 These were the men who came to David at Ziklag,^(A) while he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the warriors who helped him in battle;

² So David and the six hundred men^(A) with him left and went^(B) over to Achish^(C) son of Maok king of Gath. ³ David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives:^(D) Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. ⁴ When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

⁶ So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag,^(E) and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.

²⁴ Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. ²⁵ He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

¹⁹ “God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

David’s Mighty Warriors^(A)

¹⁰ These were the chiefs of David’s mighty warriors—they, together with all Israel,^(B) gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised^(C)—

¹⁰ when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag.^(A) That was the reward I gave him for his news!

David Hears of Saul’s Death^(A)

1 After the death^(B) of Saul, David returned from striking down^(C) the Amalekites^(D) and stayed in Ziklag two days.