2 Samuel 23
23
2 Samuel 23
1¶ Now these are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, said, and the man who was raised up high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet cantor of Israel, said,
2(The Spirit of the Lord has spoken by me, and his word has been in my tongue.
3The God of Israel dictated unto me, the strong One of Israel spoke): He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
4And as the light of the morning when the sun rises, of a morning shining forth without clouds, as the shining forth through light rain upon the tender grass of the earth:
5shall not my house be so with God, although all my saving health and my desire shall not be produced yet? For he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and it shall be kept;
6but those of Belial shall all be as thorns to be chased away, whom no one takes with the hand;
7but the one that desires to touch them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear, and they are completely burned with fire in their place.
8¶ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: he that sat in the seat of wisdom, chief among the three: Adino, the Eznite, who on one occasion slew eight hundred enemies.
9And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men who were with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and those of Israel were gone away.
10He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword; and the Lord wrought a great salvation that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil.
11And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee, the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a community, where was an inheritance of land full of lentils, and the people had fled before the Philistines.
12But he stood in the midst of the inheritance and defended it and slew the Philistines, and the Lord wrought a great salvation.
13 These three, who were of the thirty chief, went down and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam, and the camp of the Philistines was pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
14And David was then in the fortress, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem.
15And David longed and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
16Then these three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless, he would not drink of it, but poured it out unto the Lord, saying,
17Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this; is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? And he would not drink it. These three mighty men did this.
18And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred and slew them and had a name among the three.
19He was the most honourable of the three and captain among them; however, he did not attain unto the first three.
20 Then, Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, slew two lions of Moab; he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.
21He also slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and slew him with his own spear.
22These things did Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men.
23He had more honour than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David put him in his council.
24Asahel, the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan, the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
25Shammah of Harodi, Elika of Harodi,
26Helez of Palti, Ira, the son of Ikkesh of Tekoah,
27Abiezer of Anethoth, Mebunnai of Hushath,
28Zalmon of Ahoh, Maharai of Netophath,
29Heleb, the son of Baanah of Netophath, Ittai, the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin,
30Benaiah, the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,
31Abialbon of Arbath, Azmaveth of Barhum,
32Eliahba of Shaalbon, Jonathan of the sons of Jashen,
33Shammah of Harar, Ahiam, the son of Sharar of Harar,
34Eliphelet, the son of Ahasbai, the son of Maachath, Eliam, the son of Ahithophel of Gilon,
35Hezrai of Carmel, Paarai of Arbi,
36Igal, the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani of Gadi,
37Zelek of Ammon, Naharai of Beeroth, armourbearer to Joab, the son of Zeruiah,
38Ira of Ithri, Gareb of Ithri,
39Uriah, the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
2 Samuel 23
23
David's Last Words
1David son of Jesse was the man whom God made great, whom the God of Jacob chose to be king, and who was the composer of beautiful songs for Israel. These are David's last words:
2The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me;
his message is on my lips.
3The God of Israel has spoken;
the protector of Israel said to me:
“The king who rules with justice,
who rules in obedience to God,
4is like the sun shining on a cloudless dawn,
the sun that makes the grass sparkle after rain.”
5And that is how God will bless my descendants,
because he has made an eternal covenant with me,
an agreement that will not be broken,
a promise that will not be changed.
That is all I desire;
that will be my victory,
and God will surely bring it about.
6But godless people are like thorns that are thrown away;
no one can touch them with bare hands.
7You must use an iron tool or a spear;
they will be burnt completely.#23.7 Verses 6–7 in Hebrew are unclear.
David's Famous Soldiers
(1 Chr 11.10–41)
8These are the names of David's famous soldiers: the first was Josheb Basshebeth from Tachemon, who was the leader of “The Three”;#23.8 One ancient translation “The Three”; Hebrew the third. he fought with his spear#23.8 Probable text (see 1 Chr 11.11) he fought with his spear; Hebrew unclear. against 800 men and killed them all in one battle.
9The second of the famous three was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh. One day he and David challenged the Philistines who had gathered for battle. The Israelites fell back, 10but he stood his ground and fought the Philistines until his hand was so stiff that he could not let go of his sword. The LORD won a great victory that day. After it was over, the Israelites returned to where Eleazar was and stripped the armour from the dead.
11The third of the famous three was Shammah son of Agee, from Harar. The Philistines had gathered at Lehi, where there was a field of peas. The Israelites fled from the Philistines, 12but Shammah stood his ground in the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. The LORD won a great victory that day.
13Near the beginning of harvest time#23.13 Probable text Near the beginning of harvest time; Hebrew unclear. three of “The Thirty” went down to the cave of Adullam, where David was, while a band of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. 14At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. 15David felt homesick and said, “How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate at Bethlehem!” 16The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the LORD 17and said, “LORD, I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it.
Those were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.
18Joab's brother Abishai (their mother was Zeruiah) was the leader of “The Famous Thirty”. He fought with his spear against 300 men and killed them, and became famous among “The Thirty”.#23.18 One ancient translation “The Thirty”; Hebrew “The Three”. 19He was the most famous of “The Thirty”#23.19; 23.22 Probable text “The Thirty”; Hebrew “The Three”. and became their leader, but he was not as famous as “The Three”.
20Benaiah son of Jehoiada, from Kabzeel, was another famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 21He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man who was armed with a spear. Benaiah attacked him with his club, snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with it. 22Those were the brave deeds of Benaiah, who was one of “The Thirty”.#23.22; 23.19 Probable text “The Thirty”; Hebrew “The Three”. 23He was outstanding among them, but was not as famous as “The Three”. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
24-39Other members of “The Thirty” included:
Asahel, Joab's brother
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem
Shammah and Elika from Harod
Helez from Pelet
Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa
Abiezer from Anathoth
Mebunnai from Hushah
Zalmon from Ahoh
Maharai from Netophah
Heleb son of Baanah from Netophah
Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin
Benaiah from Pirathon
Hiddai from the valleys near Gaash
Abialbon from Arabah
Azmaveth from Bahurim
Eliahba from Shaalbon
The sons of Jashen
Jonathan
Shammah from Harar
Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar
Eliphelet son of Ahasbai from Maacah
Eliam son of Ahithophel from Gilo
Hezro from Carmel
Paarai from Arab
Igal son of Nathan from Zobah
Bani from Gad
Zelek from Ammon
Naharai from Beeroth, Joab's armour bearer
Ira and Gareb from Jattir
Uriah the Hittite.
There were 37 famous soldiers in all.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.