²The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. ³The fighting was heavy around Saul. Men who were armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.

⁴Saul spoke to the man who was carrying his armor. He said, “Pull out your sword. Stick it through me. If you don’t, those men who aren’t circumcised will come and hurt me badly.”

But the man was terrified. He wouldn’t do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵The man saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died. ⁶Saul and his three sons died. All of them died together.

⁷All of the Israelites who lived in the valley saw that their army had run away. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and settled down in them.

⁸The day after the Philistines had won the battle, they came to take what they wanted from the dead bodies. They found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹So they took what they wanted from Saul’s body. They took his head and his armor. Then they sent messengers through the whole land of the Philistines. They announced the news to the statues of their gods. They also announced it among their people. ¹⁰They put Saul’s armor in the temple of their gods. They hung his head up in the temple of their god Dagon.

¹¹The people of Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul. ¹²So all of their brave men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the great tree that was there. They didn’t eat anything for seven days.

¹³Saul died because he wasn’t faithful to the Lord. He didn’t obey the word of the Lord. He even asked for advice from a person who gets messages from those who have died. ¹⁴He didn’t ask the Lord for advice. So the Lord put him to death. He turned the kingdom over to David. David was the son of Jesse.

David Becomes King Over Israel

11The whole community of Israel came together to see David at Hebron. They said, “We are your own flesh and blood. ²In the past, Saul was our king. But you led the men of Israel in battle. The Lord your God said to you, ‘You will be the shepherd over my people Israel. You will become their ruler.’ ”

³All of the elders of Israel came to see King David at Hebron. There he made a covenant with them in the sight of the Lord. They anointed David as king over Israel. It happened just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

David Captures Jerusalem

⁴David and all of the men of Israel marched to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was also called Jebus.

The Jebusites who lived there ⁵spoke to David. They said, “You won’t get in here.”

But David captured the fort of Zion. It became known as the City of David.

⁶David had said, “Anyone who leads the attack against the Jebusites will become the commander of Israel’s army.” Joab went up first. So he became the commander of the army. He was the son of Zeruiah.

⁷David moved into the fort. So it was called the City of David. ⁸He built up the city around the fort. He filled in the low places. He built a wall around it. During that time, Joab built up the rest of the city.

⁹David became more and more powerful. That’s because the Lord who rules over all was with him.

David’s Mighty Men

¹⁰The chiefs of David’s mighty men and the whole community of Israel helped David greatly. They helped him become king over the entire land. That’s exactly what the Lord had promised him. ¹¹Here is a list of David’s mighty men.

Jashobeam was chief of the officers. He was a Hacmonite. He used his spear against 300 men. He killed all of them at one time.

¹²Next to him was Eleazar. He was one of the three mighty men. He was the son of Dodai, the Ahohite. ¹³Jashobeam was with David at Pas Dammim. The Philistines had gathered there for battle. Israel’s troops ran away from the Philistines. At the place where that happened, there was a field that was full of barley. ¹⁴The three mighty men took their stand in the middle of the field. They didn’t let the Philistines capture it. They struck them down. The Lord helped them win a great battle.

¹⁵David was near the rock at the cave of Adullam. Three of the 30 chiefs came down to him there. A group of Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶At that time David was in his usual place of safety. Some Philistine troops were stationed at Bethlehem.

¹⁷David longed for water. He said, “I wish someone would get me a drink of water from the well that is near the gate of Bethlehem!”

¹⁸So the Three fought their way past the Philistine guards. They got some water from the well that was near the gate of Bethlehem. They took the water back to David.

But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord. ¹⁹“I would never drink that water!” David said. “It would be like drinking the blood of these men. They put their lives in danger by going to Bethlehem.” The men had put their lives in danger by bringing the water back. So David wouldn’t drink it.

Those were some of the brave things the three mighty men did.

²⁰Abishai was chief over the Three. He was the brother of Joab. He used his spear against 300 men. He killed all of them. So he became as famous as the Three were. ²¹He was honored twice as much as the Three. He became their commander. But he wasn’t included among them.

²²Benaiah was a great hero from Kabzeel. He was the son of Jehoiada. Benaiah did many brave things. He struck down two of Moab’s best fighting men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day. He killed a lion there.

²³And Benaiah struck down an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall. The Egyptian was holding a spear as big as a weaver’s rod. Benaiah went out to fight against him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand. Then he killed him with it.

²⁴Those were some of the brave things Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, did. He too was as famous as the three mighty men were. ²⁵He was honored more than any of the Thirty. But he wasn’t included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his own personal guards.

²⁶Here is a list of David’s mighty men.

Asahel, the brother of Joab

Elhanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem

²⁷Shammoth, the Harorite

Helez, the Pelonite

²⁸Ira, the son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa

Abiezer from Anathoth

²⁹Sibbecai, the Hushathite

Ilai, the Ahohite

³⁰Maharai from Netophah

Heled, the son of Baanah, from Netophah

³¹Ithai, the son of Ribai, from Gibeah in Benjamin

Benaiah from Pirathon

³²Hurai from the valleys of Gaash

Abiel, the Arbathite

³³Azmaveth, the Baharumite

Eliahba, the Shaalbonite

³⁴the sons of Hashem, the Gizonite

Jonathan, the son of Shagee, the Hararite

³⁵Ahiam, the son of Sacar, the Hararite

Eliphal, the son of Ur

³⁶Hepher, the Mekerathite

Ahijah, the Pelonite

³⁷Hezro from Carmel

Naarai, the son of Ezbai

³⁸Joel, the brother of Nathan

Mibhar, the son of Hagri

³⁹Zelek from Ammon

Naharai, from Beeroth, who carried the armor of Joab, the son of Zeruiah

⁴⁰Ira, the Ithrite

Gareb, the Ithrite

⁴¹Uriah, the Hittite

Zabad, the son of Ahlai

⁴²Adina, the son of Shiza, the Reubenite, who was chief of the Reubenites and the 30 men with him

⁴³Hanan, the son of Maacah

Joshaphat, the Mithnite

⁴⁴Uzzia, the Ashterathite

Shama and Jeiel, the sons of Hotham from Aroer

⁴⁵Jediael, the son of Shimri

his brother Joha, the Tizite

⁴⁶Eliel, the Mahavite

Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam

Ithmah from Moab

⁴⁷Eliel

Obed

Jaasiel, the Mezobaite

Fighting Men Join David

12Some fighting men came to David at Ziklag. They were among those who helped him in battle. David had been forced to hide from Saul, the son of Kish. ²The men were armed with bows. They were able to shoot arrows or throw stones from a sling with either hand. They were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. Here is a list of them.

³Their chief Ahiezer and Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite

Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth

Beracah

Jehu from Anathoth

⁴Ishmaiah, the Gibeonite, who was a mighty man among the Thirty and a leader of the Thirty

Jeremiah

Jahaziel

Johanan

Jozabad from Gederah

⁵Eluzai

Jerimoth

Bealiah

Shemariah

Shephatiah, the Haruphite

⁶the Korahites Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam

⁷Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor

⁸Some men of Gad went over to David’s side at his usual place of safety in the desert. They were brave fighting men. They were ready for battle. They were able to use shields and spears. Their faces were like the faces of lions. They could run as fast as antelopes in the mountains.

⁹Ezer was their chief.

Obadiah was next 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.

¹⁴All of those men of Gad were army commanders. The least important of them was equal to 100 men. The most important was equal to 1,000.

¹⁵They went across the Jordan River when it was flowing over its banks. That happened in the first month of spring. They chased away everyone who lived in the valleys. They chased them away from the east and west sides of the river.

¹⁶Some men from the territories of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at his usual place of safety.

¹⁷David went out to meet them. He said to them, “Have you come to me in peace? Have you come to help me? If you have, I’m ready to have you join me. But suppose you have come to hand me over to my enemies when I haven’t even harmed anyone. Then may the God of our people see it and judge you.”

¹⁸The Spirit of God came on Amasai. He was chief of the Thirty. He said,

“David, we belong to you!

Son of Jesse, we’re on your side!

May you have great success.

May those who help you also have success.…

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