2 Samuel 23

¹Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man who was raised on high,

the anointed of the God of Jacob,

the sweet psalmist of Israel:

²“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me,

his word is upon my tongue.

³The God of Israel has spoken,

the Rock of Israel has said to me:

When one rules justly over men,

ruling in the fear of God,

⁴he dawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning,

like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

⁵Yea, does not my house stand so with God?

For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

For will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?

⁶But godless men are all like thorns that are thrown away;

for they cannot be taken with the hand;

⁷but the man who touches them

arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,

and they are utterly consumed with fire.”

⁸These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-bassheʹbeth a Tah-cheʹmonite; he was chief of the three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he slew at one time.

⁹And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleaʹzar the son of Dodo, son of Ahoʹhi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand cleaved to the sword; and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Harʹarite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹²But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.

¹³And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephʹaim. ¹⁴David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁵And David said longingly, “O that some one would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” ¹⁶Then 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 he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁷and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

¹⁸Now Abiʹshai, the brother of Joʹab, the son of Zeruʹiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and slew them, and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹He was the most renowned of the thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the three.

²⁰And 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. ²¹And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; 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. ²²These things did Benaiʹah the son of Jehoiʹada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁴Asʹahel the brother of Joʹab was one of the thirty; Elhaʹnan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵Shammah of Harod, Eliʹka of Harod, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoʹa, ²⁷Abieʹzer, of Anʹathoth, Mebunʹnai the Huʹshathite, ²⁸Zalmon the Ahoʹhite, Maʹharai of Netophʹah, ²⁹Heleb the son of Baʹanah of Netophʹah, Itʹtai the son of Riʹbai of Gibʹe-ah of the Benjaminites, ³⁰Benaiʹah of Piraʹthon, Hidʹdai of the brooks of Gaʹash, ³¹Abi-alʹbon the Arʹbathite, Azʹmaveth of Bahuʹrim, ³²Eliʹahba of Sha-alʹbon, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³Shammah the Harʹarite, Ahiʹam the son of Sharar the Harʹarite, ³⁴Eliphʹelet the son of Ahasʹbai of Maʹacah, Eliʹam the son of Ahithʹophel of Gilo, ³⁵Hezro of Carmel, Paʹarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naʹharai of Be-erʹoth, the armor-bearer of Joʹab the son of Zeruʹiah, ³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹Uriʹah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.