23These are the last words of David, the declaration of David the son of Jesse, and the declaration of the man exalted by the Most High, the anointed one of the God of Jacob and the darling of the songs of Israel. ²“The spirit of Yahweh speaks through me, and his word is upon my tongue. ³The God of Israel said to me, the rock of Israel has spoken; ‘He who rules over mankind rules righteously, in the fear of God. ⁴Like the light of the morning when the sun rises, shining with no clouds, bringing vegetation from the earth apart from rain.’^a ⁵Yet not so is my house with God, for he made an everlasting covenant for me, arranging everything. He has secured all my deliverance, and all my desire he will cause to happen. ⁶But evil persons are like thorns cast aside; all of them, because they cannot be picked up in the hand. ⁷And if a man wants to touch them, he must use an iron instrument or the shaft of a spear; then they are consumed entirely with fire on the spot.”

David’s Faithful Soldiers

⁸These are the names of the mighty warriors who were David’s: Josheb-Basshebeth a Tahkemonite was chief of three officers; first Adino, whose spear was against eight hundred slain on one occurrence. ⁹Next to him Eleazar, the son of Dodo the son of an Ahohite, was among the three mighty warriors with David when they defied the Philistines and they gathered there for the battle and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰He stood up and struck down the Philistines until his hand grew tired and his hand clung to the sword, and Yahweh brought about a great victory on that day. Then the army returned back to him only for stripping the dead. ¹¹Next to him was Shamma, the son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, a plot of the field was there filled with lentils, and the army fled there from the presence of the Philistines. ¹²But he took a stand in the middle of the plot of land and defended it. He killed the Philistines, and Yahweh brought about a great victory. ¹³Then three^b of the thirty leaders went down and came to David at the time of the harvest^c to the cave of Adullam, while a group of the Philistines were camping in the valley of the Rephaim. ¹⁴Now at that time, David was in the stronghold, and a garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem at that same time. ¹⁵David said longingly,^d “Oh that someone would bring me a drink^e of water from the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate.” ¹⁶So three of the mighty warriors broke into the camp of the Philistines, and they drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was at the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David. But he was not willing to drink it, but poured it out to Yahweh. ¹⁷He said, “Far be it from me before Yahweh that I should do this. Is this not the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty warriors did. ¹⁸Now Abishai the brother of Joab the son of Zeruiah was himself the leader of the thirty. He was wielding his spear against three hundred slain and gained a name^f among the thirty. ¹⁹Among the thirty, is it not that he was honored and became a commander for them? But he did not come up to the three. ²⁰Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of Ish-Hai, was a great man of deeds from Kabzeel. He struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. ²¹He also killed a good-looking Egyptian man, in whose hand was a spear. He went down against him with the staff and snatched the spear from the hand of the Egyptian and killed him with his spear. ²²These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did and gained a name for himself among the three mighty warriors. ²³He was honored more than the thirty, but he did not come up to the three. David appointed him in charge of his bodyguard.

The Mighty Men of David

²⁴Among the thirty were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ²⁷Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ²⁹Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, ³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash, ³¹Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan ³³the son of Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, ³⁴Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal the son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the carriers of the weapons of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹Uriah the Hittite; in all, thirty-seven.

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Footnotes

aIn other words, even men who rule rightly pass like the dew of the morning
bSo Qere; Kethib reads “thirty”
cLiterally “to the harvest”
dLiterally “desired and said”
eLiterally “Who will let me drink …?”
fLiterally “and to him a name”