David, King of Israel

5 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron^(A) and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.^{[a](B) 2} Even while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led us out to battle and brought us back.^(C) The Lord also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.’”

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them^(D) at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began his reign;^(E) he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

⁶ The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites^(F) who inhabited the land. The Jebusites had said to David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you” thinking, “David can’t get in here.”

⁷ Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.^{(G) 8} He said that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must go through the water shaft to reach the lame and the blind who are despised by David.”^[b] For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame will never enter the house.”^[c]

⁹ David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward. ¹⁰ David became more and more powerful,^(H) and the Lord God of Armies was with him.^(I)

David’s Anointing as King

11 All Israel^(A) came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.^{[a] 2} Even previously when Saul was king, you were leading Israel out to battle and bringing us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over my people Israel.’”

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the Lord’s word through Samuel.^(B)

David’s Capture of Jerusalem

⁴ David^(C) and all Israel marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus); the Jebusites who inhabited the land were there.^{(D) 5} The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.

⁶ David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab^(E) son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief.

⁷ Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David. ⁸ He built up the city all the way around, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding parts, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David steadily grew more powerful,^(F) and the Lord of Armies was with him.

Exploits of David’s Warriors

¹⁰ The following were the chiefs of David’s warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the Lord’s word about Israel.^{(G) 11} This^(H) is the list of David’s warriors:

Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief^(I) of the Thirty;^[b] he wielded his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.

¹² After him, Eleazar son of Dodo^(J) the Ahohite was one of the three warriors. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.^{(K) 14} But Eleazar and David^[c] took their stand in the middle of the field and defended it. They killed the Philistines, and the Lord gave them a great victory.

¹⁵ Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam,^(L) while the Philistine army was encamped in Rephaim Valley.^{(M) 16} At that time David was in the stronghold,^(N) and a Philistine garrison^(O) was at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David was extremely thirsty^[d] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord. ¹⁹ David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of my God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

²⁰ Abishai,^(P) Joab’s brother, was the leader of the Three.^[e] He raised his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. ²¹ He was more honored than the Three and became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada^(Q) was the son of a brave man^[f] from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab,^[g] and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall.^[h] Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand like a weaver’s beam,^(R) Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors. ²⁵ He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁶ The best soldiers^(S) were

David’s First Supporters

12 The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish.^(V) They were among the warriors who helped him in battle. ² They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow.^(W) They were Saul’s relatives^(X) from Benjamin:

⁸ Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were valiant warriors, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.^(Y)

¹⁴ These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand.^{(Z) 15} These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month^[j] when it was overflowing all its banks,^(AA) and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Other Benjaminites and men from Judah also went to David at the stronghold.^{(AB) 17} David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit enveloped^[k](AC) Amasai,^(AD) chief of the Thirty, and he said:

So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

¹⁹ Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”^{(AF) 20} When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against the raiders,^(AG) for they were all valiant warriors and commanders in the army. ²² At that time, men came day after day to help David until there was a great army, like an army of God.^[l](AH)

David’s Soldiers in Hebron

²³ The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him,^(AI) according to the Lord’s word,^(AJ) were as follows:

³⁸ All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron wholeheartedly determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.^{(AO) 39} They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them. ⁴⁰ In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, herds, and flocks.^(AP) Indeed, there was joy in Israel.