2 Samuel 23

The Last Words of David

1 Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of a the man who was raised on high,
b the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the sweet psalmist of Israel: ▼
▼ Or  the favorite of the songs of Israel

 2  d “The Spirit of the  Lord speaks by me;
his word is on my tongue.
 3 The God of Israel has spoken;
e the Rock of Israel has said to me:
When one rules justly over men,
ruling f in the fear of God,
 4 he g dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
like rain ▼
▼ Hebrew from rain
 that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
 5  “For does not my house stand so with God?
i For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
For will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?
 6 But worthless men ▼
▼ Hebrew worthlessness
 are all like thorns that are thrown away,
for they cannot be taken with the hand;
 7 but the man who touches them
arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,
and they are utterly consumed with fire.” ▼
▼ Hebrew  consumed with fire in the sitting

David’s Mighty Men

8  l These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: m Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. ▼
▼ Or  of the captains
 He wielded his spear ▼
▼ Compare 1 Chronicles 11:11; the meaning of the Hebrew expression is uncertain
 against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of p Dodo, son of q Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the  Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the r Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the  Lord worked a great victory.

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the s cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped t in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then u in the stronghold, and v the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the 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 carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the  Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O  Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink w the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. ▼
▼ Two Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts three
 And he wielded his spear against three hundred men ▼
▼ Or slain ones
 and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty ▼
▼ Compare 1 Chronicles 11:25; Hebrew Was he the most renowned of the three?
 and became their commander, but he did not attain to aa the three.

20 And ab Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man ▼
▼ Or the son of Ishhai
 of ad Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels ▼
▼ The meaning of the word ariel is unknown
 of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

24  af Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25  ag Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh ah of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer ai of Anathoth, Mebunnai aj the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon ak the Ahohite, Maharai al of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah am of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of an Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah ao of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of ap Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of aq Bahurim, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33  ar Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai as of Maacah at Eliam the son of au Ahithophel of Gilo, 35 Hezro ▼
▼ Or Hezrai
 aw of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan ax of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai ay of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38  az Ira the ba Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39  bb Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

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