1 Chronicles 11

¹Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron, and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. ²In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you that led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’ ” ³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

⁴And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebʹusites were, the inhabitants of the land. ⁵The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁶David said, “Whoever shall smite the Jebʹusites first shall be chief and commander.” And Joʹab the son of Zeruʹiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸And he built the city round about from the Millo in complete circuit; and Joʹab repaired the rest of the city. ⁹And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

¹⁰Now these are the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹This is an account of David’s mighty men: Jashoʹbe-am, a Hachʹmonite, was chief of the three; he wielded his spear against three hundred whom he slew at one time.

¹²And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleaʹzar the son of Dodo, the Ahoʹhite. ¹³He was with David at Pas-damʹmim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great victory.

¹⁵Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephʹaim. ¹⁶David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁷And David said longingly, “O that some one would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” ¹⁸Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took and brought it to David. But David would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁹and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

²⁰Now Abiʹshai, the brother of Joʹab, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and slew them, and won a name beside the three. ²¹He was the most renowned of the thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the three.

²²And Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he smote two ariels of Moab. He also went down and slew a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²³And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver’s beam; but Benaiʹah went down to him with a staff, and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²⁴These things did Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²⁵He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁶The mighty men of the armies were Asʹahel the brother of Joʹab, Elhaʹnan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁷Shammoth of Harod, Helez the Pelʹonite, ²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoʹa, Abi-eʹzer of Anʹathoth, ²⁹Sibʹbecai the Huʹshathite, Iʹlai the Ahoʹhite, ³⁰Maʹharai of Netophʹah, Heled the son of Baʹanah of Netophʹah, ³¹Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibʹeah of the Benjaminites, Benaiʹah of Pirʹathon, ³²Hurai of the brooks of Gaʹash, Abiʹel the Arʹbathite, ³³Azʹmaveth of Bahaʹrum, Eliʹahba of Sha-alʹbon, ³⁴Hashem the Giʹzonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Harʹarite, ³⁵Ahiʹam the son of Sachar the Harʹarite, Eliʹphal the son of Ur, ³⁶Hepher the Mecheʹrathite, Ahiʹjah the Pelʹonite, ³⁷Hezro of Carmel, Naʹarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸Joʹel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naʹharai of Be-erʹoth, the armor-bearer of Joʹab the son of Zeruʹiah, ⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹Uriʹah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴²Adʹina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³Hanan the son of Maʹacah, and Joshʹaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴Uzziʹa the Ashʹterathite, Shama and Je-iʹel the sons of Hotham the Aroʹerite, ⁴⁵Jediʹa-el the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶Eliʹel the Maʹhavite, and Jerʹibai, and Joshaviʹah, the sons of Elʹna-am, and Ithmah the Moʹabite, ⁴⁷Eliʹel, and Obed, and Ja-asiʹel the Mezoʹba-ite.