The Daily Audio Bible

All Israel makes David king

11 All the Israelites gathered around David at Hebron. “We’re your own flesh and blood,” they said. ² “In the past, even when Saul ruled over us, you were the one who led Israel. The Lord your God told you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become a leader over my people Israel.’” ³ So all of Israel’s elders came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them before the Lord. They anointed David to make him king over Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

David captures Jerusalem

⁴ Then David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites lived. ⁵ The people who lived in Jebus told David, “You’ll never get in here!”

But David captured the mountain fortress of Zion, which became David’s City. ⁶ David had said, “The first one to kill a Jebusite will become commander in chief!” Joab, Zeruiah’s son, was the first to attack and so became commander in chief. ⁷ David occupied the fortress, so it was renamed David’s City. ⁸ He also built up the city on all sides, including its own foundations and the surrounding areas, while Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David grew increasingly powerful, and the Lord of heavenly forces was with him.

David and his warriors

¹⁰ These are the commanders of David’s warriors who continued to support him while he was king. Together with all Israel, they made him king, as the Lord had promised Israel. ¹¹ This is the list of David’s warriors:

Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was commander of the Thirty. He raised his spear against eight hundred, killing them on a single occasion.

¹² Next in command came Eleazar, Dodo’s son the Ahohite, who was one of the three warriors. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim. The Philistines were gathered there for battle, where part of a field was full of barley. When the people ran away from the Philistines, ¹⁴ he and David stood in the middle of the field, held their ground, and defeated the Philistines. So the Lord achieved a great victory.

¹⁵ Three of the thirty commanders went down from the rock to David at the fortress^[a] of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines camped in the Rephaim Valley. ¹⁶ At that time David was in the fortress, and a Philistine fort was in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David had a craving and said, “If only someone could give me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” ¹⁸ So the three warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it and poured it out to the Lord.

¹⁹ “God forbid that I should do that,” he said. “Isn’t this the blood of men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Since they had brought it at the risk of their lives, David refused to drink it.

These were the kinds of things the three warriors did.

²⁰ Abishai, Joab’s brother, was chief of the Thirty.^[b] He raised his spear against the three hundred men he had slain, but he wasn’t considered one of the Three. ²¹ He was the most famous of the Thirty. He became their commander, but he wasn’t among the Three.

²² Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son from Kabzeel, was a hero who performed great deeds. He killed two of Moab’s leaders,^[c] and on a snowy day went down into a pit where he killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian seven and a half feet tall, who was holding a spear like a weaver’s beam. Benaiah went down to him with a club, grabbed the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with it. ²⁴ These were the exploits of Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son; he wasn’t considered one of the three warriors. ²⁵ He was famous among the Thirty, but didn’t become one of the Three. David placed him in command of his own bodyguard.

²⁶ The mighty warriors:

David’s desert army

12 The following persons came to David at Ziklag while he was banished from the presence of Saul, Kish’s son. They were some of the warriors who helped him in battle, ² armed with bows, and they could use either hand to shoot arrows or sling stones. They were Saul’s relatives from Benjamin:

³ Ahiezer was the leader, then Joash, both Shemaah’s sons from Gibeah; Jeziel and Pelet, Azmaveth’s sons; Beracah; Jehu of Anathoth; ⁴ Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a warrior in the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty;^[e] Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad from Gederah; ^5 [f] Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam the Korahites; ⁷ Joelah; and Zebadiah, Jeroham’s son from Gedor.

⁸ Some left Gad to join David at the desert fortress, brave warriors trained for battle, armed with shield and spear, who looked like lions and who were swift as gazelles on the mountains: ⁹ Ezer the leader, 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 military officers, the least of them ready to fight a hundred and the greatest a thousand. ¹⁵ These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and chased away everyone living in the valleys to the east and the west.

¹⁶ Some Benjaminites and Judahites also came to David at the fortress. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you’ve come to me with good intentions in order to help me, then we will join forces. But if you’ve come to betray me to my enemies, though I’ve done no wrong, then may our ancestors’ God see it and punish you.”

¹⁸ Then a spirit took hold of Amasai, the leader of the Thirty:

Then David received them, and put them at the head of his troops.

On the Island of Malta

28 After reaching land safely, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. Because it was rainy and cold, they built a fire and welcomed all of us. ³ Paul gathered a bunch of dry sticks and put them on the fire. As he did, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, latched on to his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He was rescued from the sea, but the goddess Justice hasn’t let him live!” ⁵ Paul shook the snake into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ They expected him to swell up with fever or suddenly drop dead. After waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to claim that he was a god.

⁷ Publius, the island’s most prominent person, owned a large estate in that area. He welcomed us warmly into his home as his guests for three days. ⁸ Publius’ father was bedridden, sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul went to see him and prayed. He placed his hand on him and healed him. ⁹ Once this happened, the rest of the sick on the island came to him and were healed. ¹⁰ They honored us in many ways. When we were getting ready to sail again, they supplied us with what we needed.

Paul makes it to Rome

¹¹ After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had spent the winter at the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with carvings of the twin gods Castor and Pollux as its figurehead. ¹² We landed in Syracuse where we stayed three days. ¹³ From there we sailed to Rhegium. After one day a south wind came up, and we arrived on the second day in Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found brothers and sisters who urged us to stay with them for a week. In this way we came to Rome. ¹⁵ When the brothers and sisters there heard about us, they came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he gave thanks to God and was encouraged. ¹⁶ When we entered Rome, Paul was permitted to live by himself, with a soldier guarding him.

Paul meets Jewish leaders in Rome

¹⁷ Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together. When they gathered, he said, “Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I’m a prisoner from Jerusalem. They handed me over to the Romans, ¹⁸ who intended to release me after they examined me, because they couldn’t find any reason for putting me to death. ¹⁹ When the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar. Don’t think I appealed to Caesar because I had any reason to bring charges against my nation. ²⁰ This is why I asked to see you and speak with you: it’s because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

²¹ They responded, “We haven’t received any letters about you from Judea, nor have any of our brothers come and reported or said anything bad about you. ²² But we think it’s important to hear what you think, for we know that people everywhere are speaking against this faction.”

²³ On the day scheduled for this purpose, many people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, he explained and testified concerning God’s kingdom and tried to convince them about Jesus through appealing to the Law from Moses and the Prophets. ²⁴ Some were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe. ²⁵ They disagreed with each other and were starting to leave when Paul made one more statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke correctly when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet,

²⁸ “Therefore, be certain of this: God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen!”^[b]

Paul’s ministry in Rome

³⁰ Paul lived in his own rented quarters for two full years and welcomed everyone who came to see him. ³¹ Unhindered and with complete confidence, he continued to preach God’s kingdom and to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 9^[a]

For the music leader. According to Muth-labben.^[b] A psalm of David.