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¹These are the last words of David: “David, the son of Jesse, speaks — David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel.

²“The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue.

³The God of Israel spoke. The Rock of Israel said to me: ‘The one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God,

⁴is like the light of morning at sunrise, like a morning without clouds, like the gleaming of the sun on new grass after rain.’

⁵“Is it not my family God has chosen? Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail. He will ensure my safety and success.

⁶But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away, for they tear the hand that touches them.

⁷One must use iron tools to chop them down; they will be totally consumed by fire.”

⁸These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three — the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle.

⁹Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled.

¹⁰He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the LORD gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!

¹¹Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled,

¹²but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹³Once during the harvest, when David was at 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.

¹⁴David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.

¹⁵David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.”

¹⁶So 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 he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD.

¹⁷“The LORD 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.

¹⁸Abishai son of Zeruiah, 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.

¹⁹Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.

²⁰There 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.

²¹Once, armed only with a club, he killed an imposing Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.

²²Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors.

²³He 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.

²⁴Other members of the Thirty included: Asahel, Joab’s brother; Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem;

²⁵Shammah from Harod; Elika from Harod;

²⁶Helez from Pelon ; Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa;

²⁷Abiezer from Anathoth; Sibbecai from Hushah;

²⁸Zalmon from Ahoah; Maharai from Netophah;

²⁹Heled son of Baanah from Netophah; Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin);

³⁰Benaiah from Pirathon; Hurai from Nahale-gaash ;

³¹Abi-albon from Arabah; Azmaveth from Bahurim;

³²Eliahba from Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen; Jonathan

³³son of Shagee from Harar; Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar;

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai from Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh;

³⁵Hezro from Carmel; Paarai from Arba;

³⁶Igal son of Nathan from Zobah; Bani from Gad;

³⁷Zelek from Ammon; Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;

³⁸Ira from Jattir; Gareb from Jattir;

³⁹Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all.

¹Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the LORD told him.

²So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel — from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south — so I may know how many people there are.”

³But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?”

⁴But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel.

⁵First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer,

⁶then to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

⁷Then they came to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went south to Judah as far as Beersheba.

⁸Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem.

⁹Joab reported the number of people to the king. There were 800,000 capable warriors in Israel who could handle a sword, and 500,000 in Judah.

¹⁰But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, LORD, for doing this foolish thing.”

¹¹The next morning the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message:

¹²“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

¹³So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me.”

¹⁴“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.

¹⁶But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel, he said to the LORD, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep — what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”

¹⁸That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

¹⁹So David went up to do what the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹“Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked. David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there, so that he will stop the plague.”

²²“Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar.

²³I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the LORD your God accept your sacrifice.”

²⁴But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the LORD my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.

²⁵David built an altar there to the LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.