1 Chronicles 12

1 Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle;

Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still shut up, because of Saul, the son of Kish; they were among the strong men, his helpers in war.

2 they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):

They were armed with bows, and were able to send stones, and arrows from the bow, with right hand or left: they were Saul's brothers, of Benjamin.

3 Ahiezer their chief and Joash, who were the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu the Anathothite;

Ahiezer was their chief, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite;

4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite;

And Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a great man among the thirty, and their chief; and Jeremiah and Jehaziel and Johanan and Jozabad the Gederathite;

5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite;

Eluzai and Jerimoth and Bealiah and Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite;

6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, who were Korahites;

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

7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

8 Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:

And some of the Gadites, siding with David, went to his strong place in the waste land, great and strong men, trained for war, expert in the use of arms, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were quick-footed like roes on the mountains;

9 Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third,

Ezer their chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

13 Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbanai the eleventh.

Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh.

14 These Gadites were army commanders, the least of whom was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand.

These Gadites were captains of the army; the least of them was captain over a hundred men, and the greatest over a thousand.

15 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.

It was they who went over Jordan in the first month, when the river was overflowing, and put to flight all the people of the valleys, to the east and to the west.

16 Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.

And some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to David in his strong place.

17 And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

And David went out to them, and said to them, If you have come in peace to give me help, my heart will be united with yours; but if you have come to give me up to those who would take my life, though my hands are clean from wrongdoing, then may the God of our fathers see it and give you punishment.

18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

Then the spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, We are yours, David, we are on your side, O son of Jesse: may peace be with you and peace be with your helpers; for God is your helper. Then David took them into his army and made them captains of the band.

19 Some from Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (They did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers consulted and sent David away, saying, “It will cost us our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”)

And some of the men of Manasseh came over to David, when he went with the Philistines to the war against Saul, but he gave them no help: for the lords of the Philistines, after discussion, sent him away, saying, He will go back to his master Saul, at the price of our lives.

20 When David went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.

Then when he went back to Ziklag, there came over to him, of the men of Manasseh, Adnah and Jozabad and Jediael and Michael and Jozabad and Elihu and Zillethai, captains of thousands from the armies of Manasseh.

21 They helped David against the raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and commanders in the army.

And they gave David help against the armed bands, for they were all great men of war, and captains in the army.

22 For at that time men came to David day after day to help him, until he had a great army, like the army of God.

And from day to day more supporters came to David, till he had a great army like the army of God.

23 Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of the LORD:

These are the numbers of the chiefs of the armed men, ready for war, who came to David at Hebron, to give the kingdom of Saul into his hands, as the Lord had said.

24 From Judah: 6,800 armed troops bearing shields and spears.

There were six thousand, eight hundred spearmen of the children of Judah, armed for war;

25 From Simeon: 7,100 mighty men of valor, ready for battle.

Seven thousand, one hundred of the children of Simeon, great men of war;

26 From Levi: 4,600,

Of the children of Levi, four thousand, six hundred.

27 including Jehoiada, leader of the house of Aaron, with 3,700 men,

And Jehoiada, chief of the family of Aaron, and with him three thousand, seven hundred men;

28 and Zadok, a mighty young man of valor, with 22 commanders from his own family.

And Zadok, a young man, great and strong in war, with twenty-two captains from his father's people.

29 From Benjamin, the kinsmen of Saul: 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Saul up to that time.

And of the children of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul, three thousand; for up to that time the greater part of them had been true to Saul.

30 From Ephraim: 20,800 mighty men of valor, famous among their own clans.

And of the children of Ephraim, twenty thousand, eight hundred great men of war, men of great name in their families.

31 From the half-tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.

And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand, listed by name, came to make David king.

32 From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their kinsmen at their command.

And of the children of Issachar, there were two hundred chiefs, men who had expert knowledge of the times and what it was best for Israel to do, and all their brothers were under their orders.

33 From Zebulun: 50,000 fit for service, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, who with one purpose were devoted to David.

Of Zebulun, there were fifty thousand men, who went out with the army, expert in ordering the fight, to give help with all sorts of arms; true-hearted men.

34 From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders, accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.

And of Naphtali, a thousand captains with thirty-seven thousand spearmen.

35 From Dan: 28,600 prepared for battle.

And of the Danites, twenty-eight thousand, six hundred, expert in ordering the fight.

36 From Asher: 40,000 fit for service, prepared for battle.

And of Asher, forty thousand who went out with the army, expert in ordering the fight.

37 And from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh there: 120,000 armed with every kind of weapon of war.

From the other side of Jordan, there were a hundred and twenty thousand of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the men of the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every sort of instrument of war.

38 All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David king.

All these men of war, expert in ordering the fight, came to Hebron with the full purpose of making David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were united in their desire to make David king.

39 They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.

For three days they were there with David, feasting at his table, for their brothers had made ready food for them.

40 And their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant supplies of flour, fig cakes and raisin cakes, wine and oil, oxen and sheep. Indeed, there was joy in Israel.

And those who were near, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came with food on asses and camels and mules and oxen, with meal for food and cakes of figs and masses of grapes, and wine and oil and oxen and sheep in great numbers, for there was joy in Israel.