1 Chronicles 7:1-14:11

English Standard Version

Descendants of Issachar

7 The sons^[a] of Issachar: Tola, ^(A)Puah, ^(B)Jashub, and Shimron, four. ² The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number ^(C)in the days of David being 22,600. ³ The son^[b] of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. ⁴ And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. ⁵ Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy.

Descendants of Benjamin

^6 (D)The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. ⁷ The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. ⁸ The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, ^(E)Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. ⁹ And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. ¹⁰ The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹ All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. ¹² And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of ^(F)Aher.

Descendants of Naphtali

^13 (G)The sons of Naphtali: ^(H)Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and ^(I)Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah.

Descendants of Manasseh

^14 (J)The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore ^(K)Machir the father of Gilead. ¹⁵ And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and ^(L)Zelophehad had daughters. ¹⁶ And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. ¹⁷ The son of Ulam: ^(M)Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. ¹⁸ And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. ¹⁹ The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Descendants of Ephraim

²⁰ The ^(N)sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, ²¹ Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. ²² And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. ²³ And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.^{[c] 24} His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper ^(O)Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. ²⁵ Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, ²⁶ Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, ^(P)Elishama his son, ²⁷ Nun^[d] his son, ^(Q)Joshua his son. ^28 (R)Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west ^(S)Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; ^29 (T)also in possession of the Manassites, ^(U)Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.

Descendants of Asher

^30 (V)The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. ³¹ The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. ³² Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. ³³ The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. ³⁴ The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. ³⁵ The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. ³⁶ The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. ³⁷ Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. ³⁸ The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. ³⁹ The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. ⁴⁰ All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men.

A Genealogy of Saul

8 ^(W)Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, ^(X)Aharah the third, ² Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³ And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, ⁴ Abishua, ^(Y)Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵ Gera, ^(Z)Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶ These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to ^(AA)Manahath): ⁷ Naaman,^[e] Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who fathered^[f] Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸ And Shaharaim fathered sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. ⁹ He fathered sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰ Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. ¹¹ He also fathered sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. ¹² The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built ^(AB)Ono and ^(AC)Lod with its towns, ¹³ and Beriah and ^(AD)Shema (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of ^(AE)Aijalon, who caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee); ¹⁴ and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. ¹⁵ Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶ Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were sons of Beriah. ¹⁷ Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸ Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. ¹⁹ Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, ²⁰ Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹ Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. ²² Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³ Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, ²⁴ Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵ Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. ²⁶ Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷ Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸ These were the heads of fathers' houses, according to their generations, chief men. These lived in Jerusalem.

^29 (AF)(AG)Jeiel^[g] the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. ³⁰ His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, ³¹ Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, ³² and Mikloth (he fathered Shimeah). Now these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. ^33 (AH)Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of ^(AI)Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal; ³⁴ and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of ^(AJ)Micah. ³⁵ The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶ Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza. ³⁷ Moza fathered Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ³⁸ Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹ The sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰ The sons of Ulam were men who were mighty warriors, bowmen, having many sons and grandsons, 150. All these were Benjaminites.

A Genealogy of the Returned Exiles

9 So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And ^(AK)Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. ^2 (AL)Now the first to ^(AM)dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the ^(AN)temple servants. ³ And some of the people of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem: ⁴ Uthai the son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, from the sons of ^(AO)Perez the son of Judah. ⁵ And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons. ⁶ Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their kinsmen, 690. ⁷ Of the Benjaminites: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah, ⁸ Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, Elah the son of Uzzi, son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah; ⁹ and their kinsmen according to their generations, ^(AP)956. All these were heads of fathers' houses according ^(AQ)to their fathers' houses.

^10 (AR)Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ^(AS)chief officer of the house of God; ¹² and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer; ¹³ besides their kinsmen, heads of their fathers' houses, 1,760, mighty men for the work of the service of the house of God.

^14 (AT)Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ and Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal and Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zichri, son of Asaph; ¹⁶ and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

¹⁷ The gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their kinsmen (Shallum was the chief); ¹⁸ until then they were ^(AU)in the king's gate on the east side as the gatekeepers of the camps of the Levites. ¹⁹ Shallum the son of Kore, son of ^(AV)Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his kinsmen of his fathers' house, the ^(AW)Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance. ²⁰ And ^(AX)Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the chief officer over them in time past; the Lord was with him. ^21 (AY)Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ²² All these, who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were 212. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. ^(AZ)David and Samuel ^(BA)the seer established them in their office of trust. ²³ So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, that is, the house of the tent, as guards. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were on the four sides, east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ And their kinsmen who were ^(BB)in their villages were obligated to come ^(BC)in every seven days, in turn, to be with these, ²⁶ for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted to be over ^(BD)the chambers and the treasures of the house of God. ²⁷ And they lodged around the house of God, for on them lay the duty of watching, and ^(BE)they had charge of opening it every morning.

²⁸ Some of them had charge of the utensils of service, for they were required to count them when they were brought in and taken out. ²⁹ Others of them were appointed over the furniture and over all the holy utensils, also over the ^(BF)fine flour, the wine, the oil, the incense, and the spices. ³⁰ Others, of the sons of the priests, ^(BG)prepared the mixing of the spices, ³¹ and Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the firstborn of ^(BH)Shallum the ^(BI)Korahite, was entrusted with ^(BJ)making the flat cakes. ³² Also some of their kinsmen of the Kohathites had ^(BK)charge of the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath.

³³ Now these, the ^(BL)singers, the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites, were in the chambers of the temple free from other service, for they were on duty day and night. ³⁴ These were heads of fathers' houses of the Levites, according to their generations, leaders. These lived in Jerusalem.

Saul's Genealogy Repeated

^35 (BM)In Gibeon lived the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, and the name of his wife was Maacah, ³⁶ and his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth; ³⁸ and Mikloth was the father of Shimeam; and these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. ^39 (BN)Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰ And the son of Jonathan was ^(BO)Merib-baal, and Merib-baal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and ^(BP)Ahaz.^{[h] 42} And Ahaz fathered ^(BQ)Jarah, and Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. And Zimri fathered Moza. ⁴³ Moza fathered Binea, and ^(BR)Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴ Azel had six sons and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.

The Death of Saul and His Sons

10 ^(BS)Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. ⁶ Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. ⁷ And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army^[i] had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ And they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. ¹¹ But when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

¹³ So Saul died ^(BT)for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also ^(BU)consulted a medium, seeking guidance. ¹⁴ He ^(BV)did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and ^(BW)turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

David Anointed King

11 ^(BX)Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. ² In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, ^(BY)‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, ^(BZ)according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

David Takes Jerusalem

⁴ And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, ^(CA)that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, ^(CB)the inhabitants of the land. ⁵ The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁶ David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first ^(CC)shall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷ And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸ And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. ⁹ And David ^(CD)became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

David's Mighty Men

^10 (CE)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, ^(CF)according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ This is an account of David's mighty men: ^(CG)Jashobeam, a ^(CH)Hachmonite, was ^(CI)chief of the three.^[j] 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 ^(CJ)Dodo, the Ahohite. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim ^(CK)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^[k] 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 ^(CL)Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, and the ^(CM)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.^[l] And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. ²¹ He was the most renowned^[m] of the thirty^[n] and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

²² And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[o] 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^[p] tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear ^(CN)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 ^(CO)Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁷ Shammoth of Harod,^[q] Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, ²⁹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai of Netophah, Heled the son of Baanah of Netophah, ³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, ³² Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ Hashem^[r] the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro of Carmel, Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of ^(CP)Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, ^(CQ)Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

The Mighty Men Join David

12 ^(CR)Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ² They ^(CS)were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the ^(CT)left hand; they were Benjaminites, ^(CU)Saul's kinsmen. ³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of ^(CV)Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of ^(CW)Anathoth, ⁴ Ishmaiah of ^(CX)Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah,^[s] Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, ⁵ Eluzai,^[t] Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the ^(CY)Korahites; ⁷ And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were ^(CZ)swift as gazelles upon the mountains: ⁹ Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹ Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹² Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁴ These Gadites were officers of the army; the least was a ^(DA)match for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand. ¹⁵ These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was ^(DB)overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ And some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.” ¹⁸ Then ^(DC)the Spirit clothed ^(DD)Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said,

Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.

¹⁹ Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David ^(DF)when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, ^(DG)“At peril to our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”) ²⁰ As he went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against ^(DH)the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were commanders in the army. ²² For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.

²³ These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops ^(DI)who came to David in Hebron ^(DJ)to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, ^(DK)according to the word of the Lord. ²⁴ The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. ²⁵ Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. ²⁶ Of the Levites 4,600. ²⁷ The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. ^28 (DL)Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers' house. ²⁹ Of the Benjaminites, ^(DM)the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the ^(DN)majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses. ³¹ Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were ^(DO)expressly named to come and make David king. ³² Of Issachar, men who ^(DP)had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. ³³ Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, ^(DQ)equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David^[u] with ^(DR)singleness of purpose. ³⁴ Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. ³⁵ Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. ³⁶ Of ^(DS)Asher 40,000 ^(DT)seasoned troops ^(DU)ready for battle. ³⁷ Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.

³⁸ All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with ^(DV)a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a ^(DW)single mind to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. ⁴⁰ And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, ^(DX)cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

13 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. ² And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers ^(DY)who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. ³ Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, ^(DZ)for we did not seek it^[v] in the days of Saul.” ⁴ All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Uzzah and the Ark

^5 (EA)So David assembled all Israel ^(EB)from the ^(EC)Nile^[w] of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God ^(ED)from Kiriath-jearim. ^6 (EE)And David and all Israel went up to ^(EF)Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who ^(EG)sits enthroned above the cherubim. ⁷ And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of ^(EH)Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio^[x] were driving the cart. ⁸ And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and ^(EI)lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ And when they came to the threshing floor of ^(EJ)Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down ^(EK)because he put out his hand to the ark, and ^(EL)he died there before God. ¹¹ And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza^[y] to this day. ¹² And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house ^(EM)of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. ^(EN)And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

David's Wives and Children

14 ^(EO)And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. ² And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

³ And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. ^4 (EP)These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: ^(EQ)Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, ^(ER)Beeliada and ^(ES)Eliphelet.

Philistines Defeated

⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. ⁹ Now the Philistines had come and ^(ET)made a raid in the ^(EU)Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰ And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” ¹¹ And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through^[z] my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.