1 Chronicles 11-13

Lexham English Bible

The Anointing of David as King

11 Then all Israel gathered to David in Hebron, saying, “Look—we are your flesh and bones. ² For some time now,^[a] even when Saul was king, you were the one who led the army of Israel in battle.^[b] And Yahweh your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel and will be leader over my people Israel.’” ³ Then all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the presence of Yahweh. And they anointed David as king over Israel according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Samuel. ⁴ And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is Jebus). And the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not enter here.” But David captured the stronghold of Zion; that is, the city of David. ⁶ Then David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first will be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first and became chief. ⁷ And David lived in the fortress. Therefore they called it the city of David. ⁸ And he built the city all around from the Millo and up to the circuit. And Joab restored the remainder of the city. ⁹ And David became greater and greater.^[c] And Yahweh of hosts was with him.

David’s Mighty Men

¹⁰ Now these are the chiefs of the mighty men who were for David, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel to make him king according to the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. ¹¹ And this is the numbering of the mighty warriors who were for David: Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief of the three. He himself raised his spear against three hundred whom he killed on one occasion.

¹² And after him was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was among the three mighty warriors. ¹³ He himself was with David at Pas-Dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for the battle. And there was a plot of the field filled with barley, and the people fled before the Philistines. ¹⁴ But they took their stand in the middle of the plot and defended it. And they killed the Philistines. And Yahweh saved them with a great victory.

¹⁵ And three of the thirty chiefs went down toward the rock to David at the cave of Adullam when the army of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ And David had a craving, and he said, “Who could give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁸ Then the three broke through into the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and brought it and came to David. But David would not drink it and poured it out before Yahweh. ¹⁹ And he said, “Far be it from me that I would do this before my God. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives^[d] they brought it.” And he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

²⁰ Now Abishai the brother of Joab was himself the head of the three.^[e] And he roused himself with his spear against three hundred whom he killed and made a name for himself^[f] among the three. ²¹ He was twice as renowned^[g] among the three^[h] and was their commander. But he did not attain to the three. ²² And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a strong man^[i] from Kabzeel, one who did great deeds. He himself struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab. And he himself went down and struck down a lion within a pit on a snowy day. ²³ And he himself struck down an Egyptian man, a large man five cubits tall. And in the hand of the Egyptian was a spear like a weaver’s beam. But he went down to him with a club and seized the spear from the hand of the Egyptian and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did and had a name among the three mighty warriors. ²⁵ He himself was certainly distinguished among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his bodyguard.

²⁶ Now the mighty warriors of the troops were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo from Bethlehem, ²⁷ Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ²⁹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹ Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ³² Hurai of the valleys of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jehonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mekerathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, Naari the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the bearer of the weapons of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, 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, Jehoshaphat 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, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

David and His Mighty Men at Ziklag

12 Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag while he was still shut up because of Saul,^[j] the son of Kish. And they were the mighty warriors helping with the war. ² They were armed with the bow, able to shoot right-handed or left-handed, slinging stones or shooting arrows with the bow; they were kinsmen of Saul from Benjamin. ³ The leader was Ahiezer, then Jehoash, sons of Shemaah the Gibeonite; Jeiel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu the Anathothite; ⁴ Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty warrior among the thirty who was over the thirty;^[k] Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad the Gederathite; ^5 [l] Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Hariphite; ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam the Korahites; ⁷ Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham from the Gedor.

⁸ And from the Gadites, valiant mighty warriors, soldiers fit for war,^[m] expert with shield and spear, defected to David at the fortress toward the wilderness. And they had faces like lions^[n] and were 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 Jehonan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah tenth, Macbannai eleventh. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Gad, leaders of the army. The smallest one was as a hundred, and the greatest as a thousand. ¹⁵ These were they who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was filled over its banks. And they put to flight all who were in the valley to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ And some of the sons of Benjamin and from Judah came to the fortress, to David. ¹⁷ And David went out to meet them^[o] and answered and said to them, “If you come in peace to me, to help me, my heart will be joined with you,^[p] but if you come to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong on my hands, may the God of our fathers see and pass judgment.” ¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the thirty who said:

So David appointed them as heads of the troops.

¹⁹ And some Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to the battle against Saul, but he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines sent him away upon counsel, saying, “He will desert to his master Saul at the cost of our heads.” ²⁰ When he went to Ziklag some Manassites deserted to him: Adnah, Jehozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, heads of the thousands that were for Manasseh. ²¹ And they themselves helped David against the troops, for all of them were mighty men of strength and were commanders in the army. ²² Day in and day out^[q] they came to David to help him until there was a great army, like the army of God.

²³ And these are the numbers of the chiefs of those prepared for the army who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him according to the word of Yahweh. ²⁴ The sons of Judah bearing shield and spear: six thousand eight hundred armed troops. ²⁵ From the men of Simeon, mighty warriors of strength for war: seven thousand one hundred. ²⁶ From the Levites: four thousand six hundred. ²⁷ Jehoiada the chief officer of the house of Aaron, and with him, three thousand seven hundred. ²⁸ And Zadok, a young man, a mighty warrior of strength, and the house of his father: twenty-two commanders. ²⁹ From the men of Benjamin, kinsmen of Saul, three thousand, and even still^[r] the majority of them remained loyal^[s] to the house of Saul. ³⁰ And from the men of Ephraim: twenty thousand eight hundred mighty warriors of strength, famous men in the house of their fathers. ³¹ And from the half-tribe of Manasseh: eighteen thousand who were designated by name to come to make David king. ³² And from the men of Issachar: men who were skilled in understanding the times^[t] to know what Israel should do. Their chiefs were two hundred, and all their kinsmen were under their command. ³³ From Zebulun, those who went out armed, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war: fifty thousand to help David with singleness of purpose.^{[u] 34} From Naphtali: one thousand commanders; and those with them with shield and spear: thirty-seven thousand. ³⁵ From the Danites, those equipped for battle: twenty-eight thousand six hundred. ³⁶ And from Asher, those who went out armed and prepared for battle: forty thousand. ³⁷ And from beyond the Jordan, from the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all their weapons of war for battle: one hundred and twenty thousand. ³⁸ All these were men of war arrayed in battle line with a whole heart.^[v] They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel had one heart to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen were prepared for them. ⁴⁰ And also their relatives, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, on camels, on mules, and on oxen—provisions of flour, cakes of figs, raisin cakes, wine and oil, cattle and sheep in abundance, for there was great joy in Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

13 And David consulted with the commanders of thousands and hundreds, with every leader. ² And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you^[w] and before Yahweh our God, let us send word abroad^[x] to our brothers who remain in all the land of Israel and to the priests and Levites with them in the cities with their pasturelands that they might be gathered to us. ³ Then let us bring around the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” ⁴ And all the assembly agreed to do so, for the word was pleasing in the eyes of all the people.

⁵ And David summoned all Israel from Shihor of Egypt up to Lebo-Hamath to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-Jearim. ⁶ And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, Kiriath-Jearim of Judah, to bring up from there the ark of Yahweh God who is enthroned between the cherubim, which is called the name. ⁷ And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio were driving the cart.

⁸ Now David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their strength, and with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. ⁹ And when they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzza reached out his hand to hold the ark because the cattle had stumbled. ¹⁰ And Yahweh was angry^[y] with Uzza, and he struck him down because he reached his hand upon the ark. And he died there before God. ¹¹ And David was angry^[z] because Yahweh had broken out in wrath against Uzza. And that place is called Perez Uzza unto this day. ¹² And David feared God on that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not move the ark to himself into the city of David but diverted it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And Yahweh blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that he had.