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.

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