New King James Version

New Living Translation

David’s Last Words

Now these are the last words of David.
Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

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David’s Last Words

These 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.a

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“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.

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

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The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling in the fear of God.

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

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And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
By clear shining after rain.’

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

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“Although my house is not so with God,
Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?

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“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.

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But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,
Because they cannot be taken with hands.

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

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But the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”

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

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David’s Mighty Men

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: [b]Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among [c]the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time.

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David’s Mightiest Warriors

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

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And after him was Eleazar the son of [d]Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated.

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Next 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.

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He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder.

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He 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!

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And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines.

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Next 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,

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But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

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

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Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

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Once 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.

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David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

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

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And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”

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

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So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.

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So 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.

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And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.
These things were done by the three mighty men.

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

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Now Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of [e]another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three.

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David’s Thirty Mighty Men

Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty.g 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.

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Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.

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

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Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, [f]who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

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

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And he killed an Egyptian, [g]a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.

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Once, 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.

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These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men.

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

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He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.

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He 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.

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Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

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