1 ChroniclesChapter 12

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¹These were the men who came to David at Ziklag. At that time he was still hiding from Saul son of Kish. These men were among the mighty men who helped David in battle. ²They were archers. They could use both the right hand and the left hand to sling stones and shoot arrows. They were Saul's relatives from the tribe of Benjamin. ³Ahiezer was their chief. Then came Joash. They were the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite. There were also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth. There were Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite. ⁴There was Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty. There were Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite. ⁵There were Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite. ⁶There were Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam. They were Korahites. ⁷And there were Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor. ⁸Some men from Gad left Saul and joined David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty, brave men trained for battle. They were experts with the shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions. They were as fast as gazelles on the mountains. ⁹Ezer was the chief, Obadiah was second in command, and Eliab was third. ¹⁰Mishmannah was fourth, and Jeremiah was fifth. ¹¹Attai was sixth, and Eliel was seventh. ¹²Johanan was eighth, and Elzabad was ninth. ¹³Jeremiah was tenth, and Machbanai was eleventh. ¹⁴These men from Gad were army commanders. The weakest of them could match 100 men. The strongest could match 1,000. ¹⁵They crossed the Jordan River in the first month, when it was flooding all its banks. They chased away everyone living in the valleys, both to the east and to the west. ¹⁶Other men from Benjamin and some men from Judah also came to David at his stronghold. ¹⁷David went out to meet them. He said, "If you have come in peace to help me, then my heart will be joined with yours. But maybe you have come to hand me over to my enemies, even though I have done nothing violent. If so, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you." ¹⁸Then the Spirit came on Amasai, the chief of the Thirty. He said, "We are yours, David! We are with you, son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you. And peace to those who help you, for your God helps you." So David welcomed them. He made them leaders of his troops. ¹⁹Some men from Manasseh left Saul and joined David. This was when David went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But they did not help the Philistines, because the Philistine rulers talked it over and sent David away. They said, "It will cost us our heads if he goes back over to his master Saul." ²⁰When David went to Ziklag, these men from Manasseh joined him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. They were commanders of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹They helped David fight against the raiders, because all of them were mighty, brave men and commanders in the army. ²²For in those days men came to David day after day to help him. At last he had a great army, like the army of God. ²³Here are the numbers of armed men who came to David at Hebron. They came to give Saul's kingdom to him, just as the LORD had said. ²⁴From Judah: 6,800 armed troops carrying shields and spears. ²⁵From Simeon: 7,100 mighty, brave men, ready for battle. ²⁶From Levi: 4,600, ²⁷including Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, with 3,700 men, ²⁸and Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 commanders from his own family. ²⁹From Benjamin, Saul's relatives: 3,000. Most of them had stayed loyal to Saul's family until then. ³⁰From Ephraim: 20,800 mighty, brave men. They were famous in their own clans. ³¹From the half-tribe of Manasseh: 18,000. They were chosen by name to come and make David king. ³²From Issachar: 200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command. These men understood the times. They knew what Israel should do. ³³From Zebulun: 50,000 men ready to serve. They were trained for battle with every kind of weapon. They were loyal to David with one heart. ³⁴From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders, with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears. ³⁵From Dan: 28,600 ready for battle. ³⁶From Asher: 40,000 men ready to serve and ready for battle. ³⁷And from the east side of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh there: 120,000 men armed with every kind of weapon. ³⁸All these fighting men came to Hebron lined up for battle. They were fully set on making David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites agreed to make David king. ³⁹They stayed there with David for three days, eating and drinking, because their relatives had given them food. ⁴⁰Their neighbors came from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali. They brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought plenty of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. There was great joy in Israel.