1 Chronicles 12

1 David went to Ziklag [town] to escape from [King] Saul. While he was there, many warriors came and joined him, and they helped him when he fought battles.

And these [are] they that came to Sikelag, when he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kis; and these [were] among the mighty, aiding [him] in war,

2 They carried bows [and arrows]. They were able to shoot arrows and to sling stones. They could use either their right arms or their left arms to do that. They were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.

and [using] the bow with the right hand and with the left, and slingers with stones, and [shooters] with bows. Of the brethren of Saul of Benjamin,

3 Their leader was Ahiezer. Next in command was Joash. They were both sons of Shemaah from Gibeah [city]. [These are the names of some of those warriors: ] Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu from Anathoth [town];

the chief [was] Achiezer, and Joas son of Asma the Gabathite, and Joel and Jophalet, sons of Asmoth, and Berchia, and Jeul of Anathoth,

4 Ishmaiah from the Gibeon [city], who was a leader of the thirty mighty warriors; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah [town];

and Samaias the Gabaonite a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; [and] Jeremia, and Jeziel, and Joanan, and Jozabath of Gadarathiim,

5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph [town];

Azai and Arimuth, and Baalia, and Samaraia, and Saphatias of Charaephiel,

6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam, who were descendants of Korah;

Helcana, and Jesuni, and Ozriel, and Jozara, and Sobocam, and the Corites,

7 Joelah and Zebadiah, who were sons of Jeroham, from Gedor [town].

and Jelia and Zabadia, sons of Iroam, and the [men] of Gedor.

8 Some men from the tribe of Gad [east of the Jordan River] joined David when he was at his fortress in [the caves in] the desert. They were brave warriors who were trained for fighting battles and able to use shields and spears well. They [SYN] were as fierce as [SIM, MTY] lions, and they could run as fast as [HYP, SIM] deer/gazelles on the hills/mountains.

And from Gad these separated themselves to David from the wilderness, strong mighty men of war, bearing shields and spears, and their faces [were as] the face of a lion, and they were nimble as roes upon the mountains in speed.

9 Ezer was their leader. Next in command was Obadiah. Next was Eliab.

Aza the chief, Abdia the second, Eliab the third,

10 Next was Mishmannah. Next was Jeremiah.

Masmana the fourth, Jeremias the fifth,

11 Next was Attai. Next was Eliel.

Jethi the sixth, Eliab the seventh,

12 Next was Johanan. Next was Elzabad.

Joanan the eighth, Eleazer the ninth,

13 Next was [another man whose name was] Jeremiah. The last was Macbannai.

Jeremia the tenth, Melchabanai the eleventh.

14 Those men from the tribe of Gad were all army officers. Some of them commanded 1,000 soldiers, and some of them commanded 100 soldiers.

These [were] chiefs of the army of the sons of Gad, the least one commander of a hundred, and the greatest one of a thousand.

15 They crossed [to the west side of] the Jordan [River] during March, [at the time of the year] when the river was flooded. They chased from there all the people who lived in the valleys on both sides of the river.

These [are] the [men] that crossed over Jordan in the first month, and it had overflowed all its banks; and they drove out all the inhabitants of the valleys, from the east to the west.

16 Some other men from the tribe of Benjamin and from Judah also came to David in his fortress.

And there came [some] of the sons of Benjamin and Juda to the assistance of David.

17 David went out [of the cave] to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to help me, I am eager to have you join with me. But if you have come to enable my enemies to capture me, even though I [SYN] have not done anything to harm you, I hope/wish that the God whom our ancestors (worshiped/belonged to) will see it and condemn/punish you.”

And David went out to meet them, and said to them, If you are come peaceably to me, let my heart be at peace with you: but if [you are come] to betray me to my enemies unfaithfully, the God of your fathers look upon it, and reprove it.

18 Then [God’s] Spirit came upon Amasai, who was another leader of the thirty [greatest warriors], and he said, “David, we want to be with you; you who are the son of Jesse, we will join you. We know that things will go very well [DOU] for you and for those who are with you, because your God is helping you.”

And the Spirit came upon Amasai, a captain of the thirty, and he said, Go, David, son of Jesse, you and your people, peace, peace be to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God has helped you. And David received them, and made them captains of the forces.

19 So David welcomed those men, and he appointed them to be leaders of his soldiers. Some men from the tribe of Manasseh also joined David when he went with the soldiers of Philistia to fight against Saul’s [army]. But David and his men did not really help the army of Philistia. After the leaders of Philistia talked [about David and his soldiers], they sent David away. They said, “If David joins his master Saul again, we will all be killed {his army will kill all of us}!”

And [some] came to David from Manasse, when the Philistines came against Saul to war: and he helped them not, because the captains of the Philistines took counsel, saying, With the heads of those men will he return to his master Saul.

20 When David went to Ziklag, these were the men from the tribe of Manasseh who went with him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, [another man whose name was] Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each of them had been a commander of 1,000 men [in Saul’s army].

When David was going to Sikelag, there came to him of Manasse, Edna and Jozabath, and Rodiel, and Michael, and Josabaith, and Elimuth, and Semathi: [these] are the captains of thousands of Manasse.

21 They were all brave soldiers, and they helped David to fight against the groups of men who roamed throughout the country, robbing people. So those men became commanders in David’s army.

And they fought on the side of David against a troop, for they [were] all men of might; and they were commanders in the army, [because] of [their] might.

22 Every day more men joined David’s men, and his army became large, like [SIM] the army of God (OR, a very huge army).

For daily men came to David, [till they amounted] to a great force, as the force of God.

23 These are the numbers of soldiers who were ready for battle who joined David at Hebron [city]. They came to help him to become the king of Israel to replace Saul, as Yahweh had promised would happen.

And these [are] the names of the commanders of the army, who came to David to Chebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him according to the word of the Lord.

24 There were 6,800 men from Judah, who carried shields and spears.

The sons of Juda, bearing shields and spears, six thousand and eight hundred mighty in war.

25 There were 7,100 men from the tribe of Simeon. They were all strong warriors trained to fight battles.

Of the sons of Symeon mighty for battle, seven thousand and a hundred.

26 There were 4,600 men from the tribe of Levi.

Of the sons of Levi, four thousand and six hundred.

27 Jehoiada, who was a leader descended from Aaron, was in that group of descendants of Levi, and there were 3,700 men with him.

And Joadas the chief [of the family] of Aaron, and with him three thousand and seven hundred.

28 Zadok, a strong young soldier, was also in that group, and there were 22 other leaders from his clan who came with him.

And Sadoc, a young [man] mighty in strength, and [there were] twenty-two leaders of his father's house.

29 There were 3,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin who were Saul’s relatives. Most of them had previously wanted one of Saul’s descendants to be the king.

And of the sons of Benjamin, the brethren of Saul, three thousand: and still the greater part of them kept the guard of the house of Saul.

30 There were 20,800 men from the tribe of Ephraim who were all brave warriors and trained for fighting battles and famous in their own clans.

And of the sons of Ephraim, twenty thousand and eight hundred mighty men, famous in the houses of their fathers.

31 There were 18,000 men from the half of the tribe of Manasseh [that lived west of the Jordan River]. They were all chosen to go and help David become the king.

And of the half-tribe of Manasse, eighteen thousand, even [those] who were named by name, to make David king.

32 There were 200 men who were leaders from the tribe of Issachar, along with their relatives. Those leaders always knew what the Israelis should do, and they knew the right time to do it.

And of the sons of Issachar having wisdom with regard to the times, knowing what Israel should do, two hundred; and all their brethren with them.

33 There were 55,000 men from the tribe of Zebulun. They were all experienced warriors and knew how to use all kinds of weapons well. They were completely loyal to David.

And of Zabulon they that went out to battle, with all weapons of war, [were] fifty thousand to help David, not weak-handed.

34 There were 1,000 officers from the tribe of Naphtali. With them were 37,000 soldiers, each carrying shields and spears.

And of Nephthali a thousand captains, and with them [men] with shields and spears, thirty-seven thousand.

35 There were 28,600 soldiers from the tribe of Dan, all trained to fight battles.

And of the Danites [men] ready for war twenty-eight thousand and eight hundred.

36 There were 47,000 experienced soldiers from the tribe of Asher, all trained to fight battles.

And of Aser, they that went out to give aid in war, forty thousand.

37 There were also 120,000 soldiers from the area east of the Jordan [River who joined David]. They were from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. They had all kinds of weapons.

And from the country beyond Jordan, from Ruben, and the Gadites, and from the half-tribe of Manasse, a hundred and twenty thousand, with all weapons of war.

38 All those men were soldiers who volunteered to be in David’s army. They came to Hebron wanting very much to enable David to be the king of all of the Israeli people.

All these [were] men of war, setting [the army] in battle array, with a peaceful mind [towards him], and they came to Chebron to make David king over all Israel: and the rest of Israel [were of] one mind to make David king.

39 The men spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, because their families had given them food to take with them.

And they were there three days eating and drinking, for their brethren [had] made preparations.

40 Also, their fellow Israelis came from as far away as the area where the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali lived, bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought a lot of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, [olive] oil, cattle and sheep. And throughout Israel, the people were very joyful.

And their neighbors, as far as Issachar and Zabulon and Nephthali, brought to them upon camels, and asses, and mules, and upon calves, food, meal, cakes of figs, raisins, wine, and oil, calves and sheep abundantly: for [there was] joy in Israel.