1 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
2 And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel.
3 Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.
4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jeb´usites were, the inhabitants of the land.
5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.
6 And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jeb´usites first shall be chief and captain. So Jo´ab the son of Zeru-i´ah went first up, and was chief.
7 And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David.
8 And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Jo´ab repaired the rest of the city.
9 So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him.
10 These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jasho´be-am, a Hach´monite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.
12 And after him was Ele-a´zar the son of Dodo, the Aho´hite, who was one of the three mighties.
13 He was with David at Pas–dam´mim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.
14 And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.
15 Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adul´lam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Reph´a-im.
16 And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines' garrison was then at Bethlehem.
17 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!
18 And the three brake through the host 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: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord,
19 and said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it: therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.
20 And Ab´ishai the brother of Jo´ab, he was chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and had a name among the three.
21 Of the three, he was more honorable than the two; for he was their captain: howbeit he attained not to the first three.
22 Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada, the son of a valiant man of Kab´zeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day.
23 And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and 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.
24 These things did Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada, and had a name among the three mighties.
25 Behold, he was honorable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.
26 Also the valiant men of the armies were, As´ahel the brother of Jo´ab, Elha´nan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
27 Shammoth the Ha´rorite, Helez the Pel´onite,
28 Ira the son of Ikkesh the Teko´ite, Abi-e´zer the An´tothite,
29 Sib´becai the Hu´shathite, I´lai the Aho´hite,
30 Ma´harai the Netoph´athite, Heled the son of Ba´anah the Netoph´athite,
31 I´thai the son of Ri´bai of Gib´e-ah, that pertained to the children of Benjamin, Benai´ah the Pira´thonite,
32 Hu´rai of the brooks of Ga´ash, Ab´i-el the Ar´bathite,
33 Azma´veth the Baha´rumite, Eli´ahba the Sha-al´bonite,
34 the sons of Hashem the Gi´zonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Ha´rarite,
35 Ahi´am the son of Sacar the Ha´rarite, Eli´phal the son of Ur,
36 Hepher the Meche´rathite, Ahi´jah the Pel´onite,
37 Hezro the Car´melite, Na´a-rai the son of Ez´bai,
38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hag´geri,
39 Zelek the Ammonite, Na´harai the Be´rothite, the armor-bearer of Jo´ab the son of Zeru-i´ah,
40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
41 Uri´ah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ah´lai,
42 Ad´ina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a captain of the Reubenites, and thirty with him,
43 Hanan the son of Ma´achah, and Josh´aphat the Mithnite,
44 Uzzi´a the Ashter´athite, Shama and Jehi´el the sons of Hothan the Aro´erite,
45 Jedi´a-el the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite,
46 El´i-el the Ma´havite, and Jer´ibai and Joshavi´ah the sons of Elna´am, and Ithmah the Moabite,
47 El´i-el, and Obed, and Ja´si-el the Meso´ba-ite.