1 Chronicles 12–14

The Mighty Men Join David

12^xNow these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ²They ^ywere bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the ^zleft hand; they were Benjaminites, ^aSaul’s kinsmen. ³The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of ^bGibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of ^cAnathoth, ⁴Ishmaiah of ^dGibeon, a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah,¹ Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, ⁵Eluzai,² Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the ^eKorahites; ⁷And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were ^fswift as gazelles upon the mountains: ⁹Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, ¹⁰Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹²Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁴These Gadites were officers of the army; the least was a ^gmatch for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand. ¹⁵These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was ^hoverflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶And some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.” ¹⁸Then ⁱthe Spirit clothed ^jAmasai, chief of the thirty, and he said,

“We are yours, O David,

and with you, O son of Jesse!

^kPeace, peace to you,

and peace to your helpers!

For your God helps you.”

Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.

¹⁹Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David ^lwhen he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, ^m“At peril to our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”) ²⁰As he went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹They helped David against ⁿthe band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were commanders in the army. ²²For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.

²³These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops ^owho came to David in Hebron ^pto turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, ^qaccording to the word of the Lord. ²⁴The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. ²⁵Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. ²⁶Of the Levites 4,600. ²⁷The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. ^28rZadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers’ house. ²⁹Of the Benjaminites, ^sthe kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the ^tmajority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers’ houses. ³¹Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were ^uexpressly named to come and make David king. ³²Of Issachar, men who ^vhad understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. ³³Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, ^wequipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David³ with ^xsingleness of purpose. ³⁴Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. ³⁵Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. ³⁶Of ^yAsher 40,000 ^zseasoned troops ^zready for battle. ³⁷Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.

³⁸All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with ^aa whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a ^bsingle mind to make David king. ³⁹And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. ⁴⁰And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, ^ccakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

13David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. ²And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers ^dwho remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. ³Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, ^efor we did not seek it¹ in the days of Saul.” ⁴All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Uzzah and the Ark

^5fSo David assembled all Israel ^gfrom the ^hNile² of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God ⁱfrom Kiriath-jearim. ^6jAnd David and all Israel went up to ^kBaalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who ^lsits enthroned above the cherubim. ⁷And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of ^mAbinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio³ were driving the cart. ⁸And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and ⁿlyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

⁹And when they came to the threshing floor of ^oChidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down ^pbecause he put out his hand to the ark, and ^qhe died there before God. ¹¹And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza⁴ to this day. ¹²And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house ^rof Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. ^sAnd the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

David’s Wives and Children

14^tAnd Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. ²And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

³And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. ^4uThese are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: ^vShammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷Elishama, ^wBeeliada and ^xEliphelet.

Philistines Defeated

⁸When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. ⁹Now the Philistines had come and ^ymade a raid in the ^zValley of Rephaim. ¹⁰And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” ¹¹And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through¹ my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. ¹²And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned.

¹³And the Philistines yet again ^amade a raid in the valley. ¹⁴And when David again inquired of God, ^bGod said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. ¹⁵And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” ¹⁶And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. ¹⁷And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the ^cfear of him upon all nations.