1 Chronicles 11:10-26
English Standard Version
David's Mighty Men
10 (A)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, (B)according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. 11 This is an account of David's mighty men: (C)Jashobeam, a (D)Hachmonite, was (E)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 (F)Dodo, the Ahohite. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim (G)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 (H)Valley of Rephaim. 16 David was then in the stronghold, and the (I)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 (J)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 (K)Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 11:11 Compare 2 Samuel 23:8; Hebrew thirty, or captains
- 1 Chronicles 11:14 Compare 2 Samuel 23:12; Hebrew they… their
- 1 Chronicles 11:20 Syriac; Hebrew three
- 1 Chronicles 11:21 Compare 2 Samuel 23:19; Hebrew more renowned among the two
- 1 Chronicles 11:21 Syriac; Hebrew three
- 1 Chronicles 11:22 Syriac; Hebrew the son of a valiant man
- 1 Chronicles 11:23 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
1 Chronicles 11:10-26
New Century Version
David’s Mighty Warriors
10 This is a list of the leaders over David’s warriors who helped make David’s kingdom strong. All the people of Israel also supported David’s kingdom. These heroes and all the people of Israel made David king, just as the Lord had promised.
11 This is a list of David’s warriors:
Jashobeam was from the Hacmonite people. He was the head of the Three,[a] David’s most powerful soldiers. He used his spear to fight three hundred men at one time, and he killed them all.
12 Next was Eleazar, one of the Three. Eleazar was Dodai’s son from the Ahohite people. 13 Eleazar was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines came there to fight. There was a field of barley at that place. The Israelites ran away from the Philistines, 14 but they stopped in the middle of that field and fought for it and killed the Philistines. The Lord gave them a great victory.
15 Once, three of the Thirty, David’s chief soldiers, came down to him at the rock by the cave near Adullam. At the same time the Philistine army had camped in the Valley of Rephaim.
16 At that time David was in a stronghold, and some of the Philistines were in Bethlehem. 17 David had a strong desire for some water. He said, “Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate in Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord, 19 saying, “May God keep me from drinking this water! It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives to bring it to me!” So David refused to drink it.
These were the brave things that the three warriors did.
20 Abishai brother of Joab was the captain of the Three. Abishai fought three hundred soldiers with his spear and killed them. He became as famous as the Three 21 and was more honored than the Three. He became their commander even though he was not one of them.
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave fighter from Kabzeel who did mighty things. He killed two of the best warriors from Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day. 23 Benaiah killed an Egyptian who was about seven and one-half feet tall and had a spear as large as a weaver’s rod. Benaiah had a club, but he grabbed the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 24 These were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did. He was as famous as the Three. 25 He received more honor than the Thirty, but he did not become a member of the Three. David made him leader of his bodyguards.
The Thirty Chief Soldiers
26 These were also mighty warriors:
Asahel brother of Joab;
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem;
Footnotes
- 11:11 Three Or maybe “Thirty.” These were David’s most powerful soldiers. See 2 Samuel 23:8.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
