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¹Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa.

²The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons — Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua.

³The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him.

⁴Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to taunt and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁵When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died.

⁶So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end.

⁷When all the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that their army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa.

⁹So they stripped off Saul’s armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia.

¹⁰They placed his armor in the temple of their gods, and they fastened his head to the temple of Dagon.

¹¹But when everyone in Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all their mighty warriors brought the bodies of Saul and his sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones beneath the great tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

¹³So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD. He failed to obey the LORD’s command, and he even consulted a medium

¹⁴instead of asking the LORD for guidance. So the LORD killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

¹Then all Israel gathered before David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood.

²In the past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the LORD your God told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be the leader of my people Israel.’”

³So there at Hebron, David made a covenant before the LORD with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel, just as the LORD had promised through Samuel.

⁴Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (or Jebus, as it used to be called), where the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were living.

⁵The people of Jebus taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here!” But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.

⁶David had said to his troops, “Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!” And Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David’s armies.

⁷David made the fortress his home, and that is why it is called the City of David.

⁸He extended the city from the supporting terraces to the surrounding area, while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem.

⁹And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD of Heaven’s Armies was with him.

¹⁰These are the leaders of David’s mighty warriors. Together with all Israel, they decided to make David their king, just as the LORD had promised concerning Israel.

¹¹Here is the record of David’s mightiest warriors: The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three — the mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle.

¹²Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah.

¹³He was with David when the Philistines gathered for battle at Pas-dammim and attacked the Israelites in a field full of barley. The Israelite army fled,

¹⁴but Eleazar and David held their ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the LORD saved them by giving them a great victory.

¹⁵Once when David was at the rock near the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty — an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there.

¹⁶David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.

¹⁷David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.”

¹⁸So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD.

¹⁹“God forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.

²⁰Abishai, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three.

²¹Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.

²²There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.

²³Once, armed only with a club, he killed an Egyptian warrior who was 7 1⁄2 feet tall and who was armed with a spear as thick as a weaver’s beam. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.

²⁴Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the three mightiest warriors.

²⁵He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

²⁶David’s mighty warriors also included: Asahel, Joab’s brother; Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem;

²⁷Shammah from Harod; Helez from Pelon;

²⁸Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa; Abiezer from Anathoth;

²⁹Sibbecai from Hushah; Zalmon from Ahoah;

³⁰Maharai from Netophah; Heled son of Baanah from Netophah;

³¹Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin); Benaiah from Pirathon;

³²Hurai from near Nahale-gaash ; Abi-albon from Arabah;

³³Azmaveth from Bahurim ; Eliahba from Shaalbon;

³⁴the sons of Jashen from Gizon; Jonathan son of Shagee from Harar;

³⁵Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar; Eliphal son of Ur;

³⁶Hepher from Mekerah; Ahijah from Pelon;

³⁷Hezro from Carmel; Paarai son of Ezbai;

³⁸Joel, the brother of Nathan; Mibhar son of Hagri;

³⁹Zelek from Ammon; Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;

⁴⁰Ira from Jattir; Gareb from Jattir;

⁴¹Uriah the Hittite; Zabad son of Ahlai;

⁴²Adina son of Shiza, the Reubenite leader who had thirty men with him;

⁴³Hanan son of Maacah; Joshaphat from Mithna;

⁴⁴Uzzia from Ashtaroth; Shama and Jeiel, the sons of Hotham, from Aroer;

⁴⁵Jediael son of Shimri; Joha, his brother, from Tiz;

⁴⁶Eliel from Mahavah; Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam; Ithmah from Moab;

⁴⁷Eliel and Obed; Jaasiel from Zobah.

¹The following men joined David at Ziklag while he was hiding from Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who fought beside David in battle.

²All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. They were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.

³Their leader was Ahiezer son of Shemaah from Gibeah; his brother Joash was second-in-command. These were the other warriors: Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu from Anathoth;

⁴Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a famous warrior and leader among the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah;

⁵Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph;

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

⁷Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

⁸Some brave and experienced warriors from the tribe of Gad also defected to David while he was at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were expert with both shield and spear, as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the mountains.

⁹Ezer was their leader. Obadiah was second. Eliab was third.

¹⁰Mishmannah was fourth. Jeremiah was fifth.

¹¹Attai was sixth. Eliel was seventh.

¹²Johanan was eighth. Elzabad was ninth.

¹³Jeremiah was tenth. Macbannai was eleventh.

¹⁴These warriors from Gad were army commanders. The weakest among them could take on a hundred regular troops, and the strongest could take on a thousand!

¹⁵These were the men who crossed the Jordan River during its seasonal flooding at the beginning of the year and drove out all the people living in the lowlands on both the east and west banks.

¹⁶Others from Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold.

¹⁷David went out to meet them and said, “If you have come in peace to help me, we are friends. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when I am innocent, then may the God of our ancestors see it and punish you.”

¹⁸Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said, “We are yours, David! We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace and prosperity be with you, and success to all who help you, for your God is the one who helps you.” So David let them join him, and he made them officers over his troops.

¹⁹Some men from Manasseh defected from the Israelite army and joined David when he set out with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But as it turned out, the Philistine rulers refused to let David and his men go with them. After much discussion, they sent them back, for they said, “It will cost us our heads if David switches loyalties to Saul and turns against us.”

²⁰Here is a list of the men from Manasseh who defected to David as he was returning to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each commanded 1,000 troops from the tribe of Manasseh.

²¹They helped David chase down bands of raiders, for they were all brave and able warriors who became commanders in his army.

²²Day after day more men joined David until he had a great army, like the army of God.

²³These are the numbers of armed warriors who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the LORD had promised.

²⁴From the tribe of Judah, there were 6,800 warriors armed with shields and spears.

²⁵From the tribe of Simeon, there were 7,100 brave warriors.

²⁶From the tribe of Levi, there were 4,600 warriors.

²⁷This included Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, who had 3,700 under his command.

²⁸This also included Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 members of his family who were all officers.

²⁹From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s relatives, there were 3,000 warriors. Most of the men from Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul until this time.

³⁰From the tribe of Ephraim, there were 20,800 brave warriors, each highly respected in his own clan.

³¹From the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, 18,000 men were designated by name to help David become king.

³²From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

³³From the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 skilled warriors. They were fully armed and prepared for battle and completely loyal to David.

³⁴From the tribe of Naphtali, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 warriors armed with shields and spears.

³⁵From the tribe of Dan, there were 28,600 warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁶From the tribe of Asher, there were 40,000 trained warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁷From the east side of the Jordan River — where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh lived — there were 120,000 troops armed with every kind of weapon.

³⁸All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king over all Israel. In fact, everyone in Israel agreed that David should be their king.

³⁹They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made by their relatives for their arrival.

⁴⁰And people from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep, and goats were brought to the celebration. There was great joy throughout the land of Israel.