Old/New Testament
Saul and his sons die in war
10 The Philistines fought against the Israelites.[a] The Israelites ran away, and the Philistines killed many of them on Gilboa mountain. 2 The Philistines chased after Saul and his sons to catch them. They killed Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The Philistines were fighting the battle all around Saul. Some of their soldiers saw Saul and they shot their arrows at him. The arrows hurt Saul very much.
4 Saul said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Kill me now with your sword. I do not want these foreign men to come and be cruel to me.’ But the young man would not agree to kill Saul because he was too afraid. So Saul took his own sword and he threw himself onto it so that he died. 5 The young man saw that Saul was dead. So he threw himself onto his own sword and he died too. 6 So Saul died there, with his three sons. His whole family died together.
7 All the Israelites who lived in Jezreel valley saw that their army had run away from the Philistines. They also saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and they ran away. Then the Philistines came to live in those towns.
8 On the day after the battle, the Philistines came to take all the valuable things from the dead soldiers. They found the dead bodies of Saul and his sons on Gilboa mountain. 9 They removed everything from Saul's dead body. They took away his head and his weapons. Then they sent men through all the country of the Philistines with the news of Saul's death. These men told the news to all their people and to their idols as well. 10 They put Saul's weapons in the temple of their gods. They hung his head in the temple of their god, Dagon.
11 All the Israelites who lived in Jabesh Gilead heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul's body. 12 So all their brave soldiers went to fetch the dead bodies of Saul and his sons. They took them to Jabesh Gilead. They buried the bones under the large tree there. The people in Jabesh Gilead did not eat any food for seven days because they were so sad.
13 Saul died because he turned away from the Lord. He did not obey the Lord's commands. He even tried to get advice from the spirits of dead people. 14 He did not ask the Lord to tell him what he should do. So the Lord punished him with death. The Lord gave the kingdom of Israel to Jesse's son, David, instead.
David becomes king[b]
11 Then all the Israelites came to David at Hebron. They said to him, ‘We all belong to the same family as you do. 2 In the past, even when Saul was our king, you led the Israelites in war. The Lord your God said to you, “You will take care of my people, as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. You will rule over my people, Israel.” ’
3 So King David made an agreement with the leaders of Israel when they came to him at Hebron. They made promises in the Lord's name. Then they anointed David to be king over Israel. The Lord had told Samuel that this would happen.
David and his men attack Jerusalem
4 David and the whole Israelite army marched to attack Jerusalem. At that time, the city was called Jebus. The people who lived there were called Jebusites. 5 The Jebusites said to David, ‘You will never get into our city.’ But David did get in and he took Zion, the city's strong place. It is now called the City of David.
6 David had said to his soldiers, ‘The man who attacks the Jebusites first will become the captain of my army.’ Zeruiah's son Joab attacked first. So he became the captain of the army.
7 David went to live in the strong place of the city. So people called it ‘The City of David’. 8 David built more houses all around it, from the edge of the hill to the city's walls. Joab built up again the other buildings in the city. 9 David became more and more powerful because the Lord Almighty was with him.
David's brave soldiers
10 These were the leaders of David's brave soldiers. They helped to make David's kingdom strong, so that he ruled over all the people in Israel. That is what the Lord had promised. 11 This is the list of David's brave soldiers:
Jashobeam belonged to Hakmoni's clan. He was the leader of David's officers. He used his spear to fight against 300 men in one battle and he killed all of them.
12 Eleazar was also a leader among the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. He was Dodo's son, who belonged to Ahoah's clan. 13 Eleazar was with David at Pas-Dammim. The Philistine soldiers were ready to attack the Israelites. There was a field there with a lot of barley. The Israelites ran away from the Philistines. 14 But David and Eleazar stood in the middle of the field to stop the Philistines taking it for themselves. They killed the Philistines. The Lord saved them. He caused them to win a great battle.
15 There were 30 leaders among David's soldiers. Three of them went to be with David at Adullam's cave where there was a big rock. A group of Philistine soldiers had made their camp in Rephaim valley. 16 David was in his strong safe place. A group of Philistine soldiers had made their home in Bethlehem. 17 David was very thirsty. He said, ‘I want someone to bring water from the well near Bethlehem's gate for me to drink.’ 18 So the three soldiers fought through the Philistine camp and they reached Bethlehem's gate. They took some water from the well there and they carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it. He poured it on the ground as an offering to the Lord. 19 He said, ‘God knows that it is not right for me to drink this water. It would seem like the blood of the brave men who fetched it for me. The Philistines might have killed them on the way.’ So David refused to drink it.
That was one of the great things that those three brave soldiers did.
20 Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of David's 30 great soldiers. One time, he used his spear to fight 300 men and he killed them all. So he became as famous as the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. 21 He was not one of the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’ but he received more honour than the other 30 great soldiers. So he became their leader.
22 Jehoiada's son, Benaiah, was also one of David's brave soldiers. He came from Kabzeel and he did many great things. He killed two of Moab's best soldiers. He also went down into a deep hole to kill a lion when snow was on the ground. 23 Benaiah also killed a very big Egyptian man who was 2.3 metres tall. The Egyptian held a spear that was thick and heavy, like a big tree. Benaiah attacked him with a heavy stick. He took the spear from the Egyptian's hand and he used it to kill him. 24 Those were some things that Jehoiada's son Benaiah did. He became as famous as the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. 25 He received more honour than the other 30 great soldiers, but he did not belong to the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. David made him the leader of his own special soldiers who were his guards.
26 These men were also David's great soldiers:
Joab's brother Asahel.
Elhanan, Dodo's son, from Bethlehem.
27 Shammoth, from Harod's clan.
Helez, from Pelon's clan.
28 Ira, Ikkesh's son, from Tekoa.
Abiezer, from Anathoth.
29 Sibbekai, from Hushah's clan.
Ilai, from Ahoah's clan.
30 Maharai, from Netophah.
Heled, Baanah's son, also from Netophah.
31 Ithai, Ribai's son, from Gibeah, in the land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe.
Benaiah, from Pirathon.
32 Hurai, from the valleys near Gaash.
Abiel, from Arbah's clan.
33 Azmaveth, from Baharum.
Eliahba, from Shaalbon.
34 Hashem's sons, who were Gizonites.
Shagee's son Jonathan, from Harar.
35 Sachar's son Ahiam, also from Harar.
Ur's son Eliphal.
36 Hepher, from Mekerath.
Ahijah, from Pelon's clan.
37 Hezro, from Carmel.
Ezbai's son Naarai.
38 Nathan's brother Joel.
Hagri's son Mibhar.
39 Zelek, from Ammon.
Naharai, from Beeroth. He carried Joab's weapons. (Joab was the son of Zeruiah.)
40 Ira and Gareb, from Jattir.
41 Uriah, the Hittite.
Ahlai's son Zabad.
42 Shiza's son Adina, from Reuben's tribe. He was the leader of Reuben's soldiers. He had 30 brave soldiers with him.
43 Maakah's son Hanan.
Joshaphat, from Mithna.
44 Uzzia, from Ashterath.
Shama and Jeiel, sons of Hotham, from Aroer.
45 Shimri's son Jediael.
Jediael's brother Joha, from Tiz.
46 Eliel, from Mahavah.
Elnaam's sons, Jeribai and Joshaviah.
Ithmah, from Moab.
47 Eliel and Obed.
Jaasiel, from Zobah.
The men who joined David's army at Ziklag
12 David went to Ziklag town because King Saul, the son of Kish, had chased him away. Many brave men went to David there. They were some of the brave soldiers who helped David to fight in war. 2 They could shoot with bows and arrows. They could use slings to throw stones with either their right hand or their left hand. They were relatives of Saul, from Benjamin's tribe. Their names were:
3 Ahiezer, their leader, and his brother Joash. They were sons of Shemaah, who was from Gibeah town.
Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth.
Beracah.
Jehu, from Anathoth town.
4 Ishmaiah, from Gibeon town. He was the leader of the 30 great soldiers.
Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan and Jozabad, who was from Gederah.
5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah and Shephatiah, who was from Hariph.
6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam. They belonged to Korah's clan.
7 Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor town.
The men of Gad's tribe who joined David's army
8 Many soldiers from Gad's tribe joined David's army at his strong place in the desert. These men were brave soldiers who knew how to fight well. They could use shields and spears. They could fight like lions. They could run as fast as deer on the mountains.
9 Ezer was their leader. After him there were: Obadiah (2), Eliab (3), 10 Mishmannah (4), Jeremiah (5), 11 Attai (6), Eliel (7), 12 Johanan (8), Elzabad (9), 13 Jeremiah (10), and Makbannai (11).[c]
14 These descendants of Gad were leaders in the army. The least important officer among them led 100 soldiers. The greatest officer led 1,000 soldiers. 15 Those men went across to the west side of the Jordan River during the first month of the year.[d] At that time the water in the river was very deep and wide. They chased away the people who lived in the valleys on both sides of the river.
16 Some other men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah also came to David in his strong place. 17 David went out to meet them. He said to them, ‘I hope that you have come here as my friends. If you have come to help me, I will make an agreement with you. But I hope that you have not come here to help my enemies and to tell them where I am hiding. I have not done anything wrong. So I pray that the God of our ancestors will see what you do. He will punish you as you deserve!’
18 Then God's Spirit came to Amasai with power. He was the leader of the 30 great soldiers. He said,
‘We will serve you, David, Jesse's son.
We have come to help you!
May God bless you!
May God bless those who help you!
Yes, your God will help you.’
So David accepted them as his friends. He made them officers in his army.
The men of Manasseh's tribe who joined David's army
19 Some men from Manasseh's tribe also joined David's army. That was at the time when David joined with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But David and his men were not able to help the Philistines like that. That was because the leaders of the Philistines decided to send David and his men away. They said, ‘David may turn against us and go to help his master Saul, instead. If he does that, we will all be dead!’
20 So David returned to Ziklag. These men from Manasseh's tribe joined David's army at that time:
Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai. Each of them had been the leader of 1,000 soldiers in Saul's army.
21 All those men were brave soldiers and they became officers in David's army. They helped David to fight against the enemy's soldiers when they attacked.
22 Every day more men came to help David. So his army became very large and powerful, like God's own army.
The men who joined David's army at Hebron
23 This is a list of the soldiers who joined David's army at Hebron. They came with their officers and they were ready to fight. They wanted to help David become king of Israel instead of Saul. The Lord had promised that this would happen.
24 From Judah's tribe, there were 6,800 men who carried shields and spears. They knew how to fight well.
25 From Simeon's tribe, there were 7,100 strong men who knew how to fight well.
26 From Levi's tribe, there were 4,600 men. 27 Jehoiada was the leader of the men who were Aaron's descendants. He brought 3,700 men with him. 28 Zadok was also in that group. He was a brave young soldier. There were also 22 officers who belonged to his clan.
29 From Benjamin's tribe that Saul belonged to, there were 3,000 men. Most of those men had served Saul faithfully until that time.
30 From Ephraim's tribe, there were 20,800 men who were brave soldiers. The people in their clans respected them very much.
31 From the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River, there were 18,000 men. Their clans had chosen those men to go and help David become their king.
32 From Issachar's tribe, there were 200 officers and their relatives who obeyed their commands. Those officers understood that this was an important time for Israel. They knew what Israel should do.
33 From Zebulun's tribe, there were 50,000 brave men who were ready to fight. They knew how to use many different kinds of weapons. They were completely faithful to David.
34 From Naphtali's tribe, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 men who carried shields and spears.
35 From Dan's tribe, there were 28,600 men who were ready for war.
36 From Asher's tribe there were 40,000 soldiers who were ready for war.
37 From the east side of the Jordan River, there were 120,000 soldiers who knew how to use many different kinds of weapons. Those men belonged to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the other half tribe of Manasseh.
38 All those men were soldiers who were ready to fight in war. They came to David in Hebron because they wanted to make him king to rule all Israel. All the other Israelites also agreed that David should become king. 39 The men stayed there with David for three days. Their relatives had prepared a lot of food for them. So they enjoyed a big feast together. 40 People also came from places as far away as Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali. They brought food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. So there was plenty of flour to make bread, and lots of figs, raisins, wine, olive oil, cows and sheep. All the Israelites had a very happy party!
45 The prophets wrote in the Bible, “God will teach all the people.” Everyone who hears the Father's message and learns from him will come to me.[a] 46 I came from God and I am the only one who has seen the Father. Nobody else has seen him. 47 I tell you this: The person who believes my message has life for ever. 48 I am the bread that causes you to live. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, but they died. 50 This bread that comes down from heaven is different. Anyone who eats this bread will not die. 51 I am the bread that gives life to people. This bread came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live for ever. The bread that I will give is my own body. I will give it so that all people in the world may have life with God.’
52 Then the Jewish leaders became angry and they argued with each other even more. They said, ‘This man cannot give his body to us so that we can eat it!’ 53 Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you this: You must eat the body of the Son of Man and you must drink his blood. Unless you do those things, you do not have true life. 54 Every person needs to eat my body and they need to drink my blood. If they do those things, they have life for ever with God. I will raise them up on the last day. 55 My body is the true food and my blood is the true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me. And I live in them. 57 The Father, who has life, sent me. I live because of him. In the same way, anyone who takes me as their food will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the manna that your ancestors ate. They ate it but they died. But the person who eats this bread will live for ever.’
59 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Jewish meeting place at Capernaum.
Many disciples go away from Jesus
60 Many of Jesus' disciples did not like these words. They said, ‘This thing that he teaches is too difficult. Nobody can agree with it!’ 61 Jesus himself knew that the disciples did not like his message. He did not need anyone to tell him. He said to them, ‘This seems to make you angry. 62 Think about this: The Son of Man will go up again to the place where he was before. And you will see him go up. Will you agree to that? 63 It is the Spirit that gives you life. People cannot do that. The words that I have spoken to you come from the Spirit. They give you life. 64 But some of you do not believe my message.’
Jesus had known from the beginning which of them would not believe in him. Also, he had always known who would sell him to his enemies. 65 Then Jesus said to them, ‘That is why I told you that only the Father can bring people to me. Nobody can come to me unless the Father makes them able to come.’
66 From that time, many of Jesus' disciples left him. They did not go with him any longer. 67 Then Jesus asked the 12 apostles, ‘Do you want to go away from me, too?’ 68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, there is nobody else that we could go to. You speak the words that give us life for ever. 69 We believe that you are the Holy One that God has sent. We are sure about that.’ 70 Jesus replied, ‘I have chosen the 12 of you. But one of you is a servant of Satan!’ 71 He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 apostles, but later he would sell Jesus to Jesus' enemies.
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