1 Chronicles 12
Revised Geneva Translation
12 Also, these are those who came to David, to Ziklag, while he was still under restraint because of Saul, the son of Kish. And they were among the valiant and helpers of the battle.
2 They were weaponed with bows and could use the right and the left hand with stones and with arrows and with bows and were Saul’s brethren, of Benjamin.
3 The chiefs were Ahiezer and Joash, the sons of Shemaah, a Gibeathite, and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, Berachah and Jehu the Anathothite,
4 and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a valiant man among thirty (and above the thirty), and Jeremiah and Jahaziel and Johanan and Jozabad the Gederathite,
5 Eluzai and Jerimoth and Bealiah and Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite,
6 Elkanah and Jisshiah and Azarel and Joezer, Jashobeam of Korah
7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
8 And some of the Gadites separated themselves to David, into the stronghold of the wilderness, valiant men of war, men of arms for battle who could handle spear and shield. And their faces were like the faces of lions, and similar in swiftness to the deer in the mountains:
9 Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,
10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,
11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,
12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh.
14 These were the sons of Gad, captains of the army. One of the least of them could resist a hundred, and the greatest a thousand.
15 These are those who went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks, and put to flight all those of the valley toward the east and the west.
16 And some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold, to David.
17 And David went out to meet them and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me, to help me, my heart shall be knit with yours. But if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, there being no wickedness in my hands, the God of our fathers will behold it and rebuke it.”
18 And the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of thirty. And he said, “We are yours, David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace! Peace to you and peace to your helpers. For your God helps you.” Then David received them and made them captains of the garrison.
19 And some from Manasseh fell to David when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle. But they did not help them. For the princes of the Philistines, under advisement, sent him away, saying, “He will fall to his master Saul for our heads.”
20 As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh: Adnah and Jozabad and Jediael and Michael and Jozabad and Elihu and Zillethai, heads of the thousands who were of Manasseh.
21 And they helped David against that band; for they were all valiant men and were captains in the army.
22 For at that time, day by day, they came to David to help him, until it was a great army, like the host of God.
23 And these are the numbers of the captains who were armed to battle and came to David (to Hebron) to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the Word of the LORD.
24 The children of Judah who bore shield and spear were six thousand eight hundred, armed to the war,
25 of the children of Simeon, valiant men of war, seven thousand one hundred.
26 of the children of Levi, four thousand six hundred.
27 And Jehoiada was the chief of those from Aaron. And with him were three thousand seven hundred.
28 And of Zadok (a very valiant young man) and of his father’s household, came twenty-two captains.
29 And of the children of Benjamin, the brethren of Saul,came three thousand. For a great part of them until that time had kept the ward of the House of Saul.
30 And of the children of Ephraim came twenty thousand, and eight hundred valiant men and famous men in the household of their fathers.
31 And of the half tribe of Manasseh came eighteen thousand, who were appointed by name to come and make David king.
32 And of the children of Issachar—who were men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do—the heads of them were two hundred. And all their brethren were at their command.
33 Of Zebulun came fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war and in all instruments of war, who could keep the battle in formation. They were not of a double heart.
34 And of Naphtali came a thousand captains, and with them those with shield and spear (thirty-seven thousand).
35 And of Dan came twenty-eight thousand six hundred experts in battle.
36 And of Asher came forty thousand who went out to the battle and were trained in the wars.
37 And of the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites and of the Gadites and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all instruments of war to fight with, one hundred twenty thousand.
38 All these men of war, who could lead an army, came to Hebron with upright heart to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of Israel was of one accord to make David king.
39 And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking. For their brethren had prepared for them.
40 Moreover, those who were near to them, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread upon donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen: abundant meat, flour, figs, raisins, wine, oil, oxen and sheep. For there was joy in Israel.
1 Chronicles 12
New International Reader's Version
Fighting Men Join David
12 Some fighting men came to David at Ziklag. They were among those who helped him in battle. David had been forced to hide from Saul, the son of Kish. 2 The men were armed with bows. They were able to shoot arrows or throw stones from a sling with either hand. They were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. Here is a list of them.
3 Their chief Ahiezer and Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite
Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth
Berakah
Jehu from Anathoth
4 Ishmaiah, the Gibeonite, who was a mighty warrior among the 30 chiefs and a leader of the 30 chiefs
Jeremiah
Jahaziel
Johanan
Jozabad from Gederah
5 Eluzai
Jerimoth
Bealiah
Shemariah
Shephatiah, the Haruphite
6 the Korahites Elkanah, Ishiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam
7 Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor
8 Some men of Gad went over to David’s side at his usual place of safety in the desert. They were brave fighting men. They were ready for battle. They were able to use shields and spears. Their faces were like the faces of lions. They could run as fast as antelopes in the mountains.
9 Ezer was their chief.
Obadiah was next in command. Eliab was third.
10 Mishmannah was fourth. Jeremiah was fifth.
11 Attai was sixth. Eliel was seventh.
12 Johanan was eighth. Elzabad was ninth.
13 Jeremiah was tenth. And Makbannai was eleventh.
14 All these men of Gad were army commanders. The least important of them was equal to 100 men. The most important was equal to 1,000. 15 They went across the Jordan River when it was flowing over its banks. That happened in the first month of spring. They chased away everyone who lived in the valleys. They chased them away from the east and west sides of the river.
16 Some men from the territories of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at his usual place of safety. 17 David went out to meet them. He said to them, “Have you come to me in peace? Have you come to help me? If you have, I’m ready for you to join me. But suppose you have come to hand me over to my enemies when I haven’t even harmed anyone. Then may the God of our people see it and judge you.”
18 The Spirit of God came on Amasai. He was leader of the 30 chiefs. He said,
“David, we belong to you!
Son of Jesse, we’re on your side!
May you have great success.
May those who help you also have success.
Your God will help you.”
So David welcomed them. He made them leaders in his army.
19 Some people from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David’s side. They did this when he marched out with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But David and his men didn’t help the Philistines. That’s because after all the Philistine rulers had discussed the matter, they sent him away. They said, “Suppose he deserts to his master Saul. Then our heads will be cut off!” 20 So David went to Ziklag. Here are the men of Manasseh who went over to his side. They were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai. They were leaders of groups of 1,000 men in Manasseh. 21 They helped David fight against enemy armies. All the men of Manasseh were brave fighting men. They were commanders in David’s army. 22 Day after day men came to help David. Soon he had a large army. It was like the army of God.
Other Fighting Men Join David at Hebron
23 Large numbers of men came to David at Hebron. They were prepared for battle. They came to hand Saul’s kingdom over to him, just as the Lord had said. Here are the numbers of the men who came.
24 The men from Judah carried shields and spears. They were prepared for battle. The total number of them was 6,800.
25 The fighting men from Simeon were ready for battle. The total number of them was 7,100.
26 The total number of men from Levi was 4,600. 27 They included Jehoiada. He was the leader of the family of Aaron. He came with 3,700 men. 28 The men from Levi also included Zadok. He was a brave young fighter. He came with 22 officers from his family.
29 The men from Benjamin were from Saul’s tribe. Most of them had remained faithful to Saul’s family until that time. The total number of them was 3,000.
30 The men from Ephraim were brave fighting men. They were famous in their own family groups. The total number of them was 20,800.
31 The men from half of the tribe of Manasseh had been chosen by name to come and make David king. The total number of them was 18,000.
32 The men from Issachar understood what was going on at that time. They knew what Israel should do. The total number of their chiefs was 200. They came with all their relatives who were under their command.
33 The men from Zebulun knew how to fight well. That’s because they had done it many times before. They were prepared for battle. They had every kind of weapon. They came to help David with their whole heart. The total number of them was 50,000.
34 The total number of officers from Naphtali was 1,000. They came with 37,000 men who carried shields and spears.
35 The men from Dan were ready for battle. The total number of them was 28,600.
36 The men from Asher knew how to fight well. That’s because they had done it many times before. They were prepared for battle. The total number of them was 40,000.
37 The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh were armed with every kind of weapon. The men came from the east side of the Jordan River. The total number of them was 120,000.
38 All these fighting men offered to serve in the army.
Before they came to Hebron, they had agreed completely to make David king over all the Israelites. All the rest of the people also agreed to make David king. 39 The men spent three days there with David. They ate and drank what their families had given them. 40 Their neighbors also brought food. They brought it on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. They came from as far away as the territories of Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali. There was plenty of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, olive oil, cattle and sheep. The Israelites brought all these things because they were so happy.
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