1 Chronicles 11

David Anointed King of All Israelⓘ

All Israel makes David king¹Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. ²Even in times past,^a while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And the Lord your God said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where David made a covenant with them before the Lord. And they anointed him king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord through Samuel.

David Conquers Jerusalemⓘ

David captures Jerusalem⁴Then David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus), where the Jebusites inhabited the land.

⁵The people of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.”

Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

⁶Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.”

And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.

⁷So David took up residence in the fortress; that is why it was called the City of David. ⁸He built up the city around it, from the supporting terraces^b to the surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city.

⁹And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of Hosts was with him.

Davidʼs Mighty Menⓘ

David's chief warriors: Jashobeam and Eleazar¹⁰Now these were the chiefs of Davidʼs mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹This is the list of Davidʼs mighty men:

Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief of the officers;^c he wielded his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed at one time.

¹²Next in command was Eleazar son of Dodo^d the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men. ¹³He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At the place with a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴But Eleazar and David stationed themselves^e in the middle of the field and defended it. They struck down the Philistines, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

Water from the well of Bethlehem¹⁵Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem. ¹⁷David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”

¹⁸So the Three broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁹saying, “Far be it from me, my God, to do this! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” Because they had brought it at the risk of their lives, David refused to drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.

Abishai and Benaiah²⁰Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Three,^f and he wielded his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three. ²¹He was doubly honored above the Three, and he became their commander, even though he was not included among the Three.

²²And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab,^g and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion. ²³He also struck down an Egyptian, a huge man five cubits tall.^h Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaverʼs beam in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club, snatched the spear from his hand, and killed the Egyptian with his own spear. ²⁴These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who won a name along with the three mighty men. ²⁵He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard.

The list of David's mighty men²⁶Now these were the mighty men: