1 Chronicles 12–14

Warriors Join David

12These were the men who came to David at Ziklag when David was hiding from Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped David in battle. ²They came with bows for weapons and could use either their right or left hands to shoot arrows or to sling rocks. They were Saul’s relatives from the tribe of Benjamin. ³Ahiezer was their leader, and there was Joash. (Ahiezer and Joash were sons of Shemaah, who was from the town of Gibeah.) There were also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth. There were Beracah and Jehu from the town of Anathoth. ⁴And there was Ishmaiah from the town of Gibeon; he was one of the Thirty. In fact, he was the leader of the Thirty. There were Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah. ⁵There were Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, and Shemariah. There was Shephatiah from Haruph. ⁶There were Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam from the family group of Korah. ⁷And there were Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham, from the town of Gedor.

⁸Part of the people of Gad joined David at his stronghold in the desert. They were brave warriors trained for war and skilled with shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and as fast as gazelles over the hills.

⁹Ezer was the leader of Gad’s army, and Obadiah was second in command. Eliab was third, ¹⁰Mishmannah was fourth, Jeremiah was fifth, ¹¹Attai was sixth, Eliel was seventh, ¹²Johanan was eighth, Elzabad was ninth, ¹³Jeremiah was tenth, and Macbannai was eleventh in command.

¹⁴They were the commanders of the army from Gad. The least of these leaders was in charge of a hundred soldiers, and the greatest was in charge of a thousand. ¹⁵They crossed the Jordan River and chased away the people living in the valleys, to the east and to the west. This happened in the first month of the year when the Jordan floods the valley.

¹⁶Other people from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at his stronghold. ¹⁷David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to help me, I welcome you. Join me. But if you have come to turn me over to my enemies, even though I have done nothing wrong, the God of our ancestors will see this and punish you.”

¹⁸Then the Spirit entered Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said:

“We belong to you, David.

We are with you, son of Jesse.

Success, success to you.

Success to those who help you,

because your God helps you.”

So David welcomed these men and made them leaders of his army.

¹⁹Some of the men from Manasseh also joined David when he went with the Philistines to fight Saul. But David and his men did not really help the Philistines. After talking about it, the Philistine leaders decided to send David away. They said, “If David goes back to his master Saul, we will be killed.” ²⁰These are the men from Manasseh who joined David when he went to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each of them was a leader of a thousand men from Manasseh. ²¹All these men of Manasseh were brave soldiers, and they helped David fight against groups of men who went around the country robbing people. These soldiers became commanders in David’s army. ²²Every day more men joined David, and his army became large, like the army of God.

Others Join David at Hebron

²³These are the numbers of the soldiers ready for battle who joined David at Hebron. They came to help turn the kingdom of Saul over to David, just as the Lord had said.

²⁴There were sixty-eight hundred men with their weapons from Judah. They carried shields and spears.

²⁵There were seventy-one hundred men from Simeon. They were warriors ready for war.

²⁶There were forty-six hundred men from Levi. ²⁷Jehoiada, a leader from Aaron’s family, was in that group. There were thirty-seven hundred with him. ²⁸Zadok was also in that group. He was a strong young warrior, and with him came twenty-two leaders from his family.

²⁹There were three thousand men from Benjamin, who were Saul’s relatives. Most of them had remained loyal to Saul’s family until then.

³⁰There were twenty thousand eight hundred men from Ephraim. They were brave warriors and were famous men in their own family groups.

³¹There were eighteen thousand men from West Manasseh. Each one was especially chosen to make David king.

³²There were two hundred leaders from Issachar. They knew what Israel should do, and they knew the right time to do it. Their relatives were with them and under their command.

³³There were fifty thousand men from Zebulun. They were trained soldiers and knew how to use every kind of weapon of war. They followed David completely.

³⁴There were one thousand officers from Naphtali. They had thirty-seven thousand soldiers with them who carried shields and spears.

³⁵There were twenty-eight thousand six hundred men from Dan, who were ready for war.

³⁶There were forty thousand trained soldiers from Asher, who were ready for war.

³⁷There were one hundred twenty thousand soldiers from the east side of the Jordan River from the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. They had every kind of weapon.

³⁸All these fighting men were ready to go to war. They came to Hebron fully agreed to make David king of all Israel. All the other Israelites also agreed to make David king. ³⁹They spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, because their relatives had prepared food for them. ⁴⁰Also, their neighbors came from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought much flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, oil, cows, and sheep, because the people of Israel were very happy.

Bringing Back the Ark

13David talked with all the officers of his army, the commanders of a hundred men and the commanders of a thousand men. ²Then David called the people of Israel together and said, “If you think it is a good idea, and if it is what the Lord our God wants, let’s send a message. Let’s tell our fellow Israelites in all the areas of Israel and the priests and Levites living with them in their towns and pastures to come and join us. ³Let’s bring the Ark of our God back to us. We did not use it to ask God for help while Saul was king.” ⁴All the people agreed with David, because they all thought it was the right thing to do.

⁵So David gathered all the Israelites, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the Ark of God back from the town of Kiriath Jearim. ⁶David and all the Israelites with him went to Baalah of Judah, which is Kiriath Jearim, to get the Ark of God the Lord. God’s throne is between the golden, winged creatures on the Ark, and the Ark is called by his name.

⁷The people carried the Ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, and Uzzah and Ahio guided it. ⁸David and all the Israelites were celebrating in the presence of God. With all their strength they were singing and playing lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹When David’s men came to the threshing floor of Kidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. ¹⁰The Lord was angry with Uzzah and killed him, because he had touched the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God.

¹¹David was angry because the Lord had punished Uzzah in his anger. Now that place is called The Punishment of Uzzah.

¹²David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I bring the Ark of God home to me?” ¹³So David did not take the Ark with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom who was from Gath. ¹⁴The Ark of God stayed with Obed-Edom’s family in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom’s family and everything he owned.

David’s Kingdom Grows

14Hiram king of the city of Tyre sent messengers to David. He also sent cedar logs, bricklayers, and carpenters to build a palace for David. ²Then David knew that the Lord really had made him king of Israel and that he had made his kingdom great. The Lord did this because he loved his people Israel.

³David married more women in Jerusalem and had more sons and daughters. ⁴These are the names of David’s children born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

David Defeats the Philistines

⁸When the Philistines heard that David had been made king of all Israel, they went to look for him. But David heard about it and went out to fight them. ⁹The Philistines had attacked and robbed the people in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰David asked God, “Should I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord answered him, “Go, I will hand them over to you.”

¹¹So David and his men went up to the town of Baal Perazim and defeated the Philistines. David said, “Like a flood of water, God has broken through my enemies by using me.” So that place was named Baal Perazim. ^{n 12}The Philistines had left their idols there, so David ordered his men to burn them.

¹³Soon the Philistines attacked the people in the valley again. ¹⁴David prayed to God again, and God answered him, saying, “Don’t attack the Philistines from the front. Instead, go around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. ¹⁵When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then attack. I, God, will have gone out before you to defeat the Philistine army.” ¹⁶David did as God commanded, and he and his men defeated the Philistine army all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁷So David became famous in all the countries, and the Lord made all nations afraid of him.