Warriors Join David

12 These were the men who came to David at Ziklag when David was ·hiding [banished; kept away] from Saul son of Kish. They were among the ·warriors [champions] who helped David in battle. ² They ·came [were armed/equipped] with bows for weapons and could use either their right or left hands to shoot arrows or to sling rocks. They were Saul’s relatives from the tribe of Benjamin. ³ Ahiezer was their ·leader [chief], and there was Joash. (Ahiezer and Joash were sons of Shemaah, who was from the town of Gibeah.) There were also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth. There were Beracah and Jehu from the town of Anathoth. ⁴ And there was Ishmaiah from the town of Gibeon; he was one of the Thirty. In fact, he was the leader of the Thirty. There were Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah. ⁵ There were Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, and Shemariah. There was Shephatiah from Haruph. ⁶ There were Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam from the ·family group of Korah [^LKorahites]. ⁷ And there were Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham, from the town of Gedor.

⁸ Part of the people of Gad joined David at his stronghold in the ·desert [wilderness]. They were ·brave warriors [^Lmighty men of valor] trained for war and ·skilled [expert] with shields and spears. They ·were as fierce as [^Lhad faces of] lions and as ·fast [swift; or nimble] as gazelles over the hills.

⁹ Ezer was the leader of Gad’s army, and Obadiah was second 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 Macbannai was eleventh in command.

¹⁴ They were the ·commanders [leaders; captains] of the army from Gad. The least of these leaders ·was in charge of [or was a match for; could take on; ^Lwas equal to] a hundred soldiers, and the greatest ·was in charge of [or was a match for; could take on; ^Lwas equal to] a thousand. ¹⁵ They crossed the Jordan River and ·chased away [drove out; put to flight] the people living in the ·valleys [lowlands], to the east and to the west. This happened in the first month of the year when the Jordan ·floods the valley [was overflowing its banks].

¹⁶ ·Other people from the tribes [^LSome of the sons] of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at his stronghold. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to help me, ·I welcome you. Join me. […I am your friend; or we will make an alliance; ^Lmy heart will be united with you]. But if you have come to ·turn me over to my enemies [betray me to my adversaries], even though I have ·done nothing wrong [^Lno violence in my hands], the God of our ·ancestors [^Lfathers] will see this and ·punish you [^Ljudge/decide].”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit ·entered [came upon; ^Lclothed] Amasai, the ·leader [chief] of the Thirty, and he said:

So David ·welcomed [received] these men and made them ·leaders [captains] of his ·army [fighters; raiders].

¹⁹ Some of the men from Manasseh also ·joined [defected/deserted to] David when he went with the Philistines to fight Saul. But David and his men did not really help the Philistines. After ·talking about it [consultation], the Philistine leaders decided to send David away. They said, “If David ·goes [defects; deserts] back to his master Saul, ·we will be killed [^Lit will be our heads].” ²⁰ These are the men from Manasseh who ·joined [defected/deserted to] David when he went to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each of them was a ·leader [captain; chief] of a thousand men from Manasseh. ²¹ All these men of Manasseh were ·brave soldiers [^Lmighty men of valor], and they helped David fight against ·groups of men who went around the country robbing people [raiding bands]. These soldiers became ·commanders [captains] in David’s army. ²² Every day more men ·joined [came to help] David, and his army became ·large [great], like the army of God.