³ Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

¹² Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

¹⁴ and 128 of his^[a] outstanding associates. Their chief officer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

¹⁷ Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men.

²⁸ This also included Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 members of his family who were all officers.

⁷ Now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king.”

¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”