Bible Reading Plan – Day 96

₁All the people of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ₂In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the LORD your God promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ₃So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel, just as the LORD had promised through Samuel.

₄King David and all the Israelites went and attacked the city of Jerusalem. It was then known as Jebus, and the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were still living there. ₅The Jebusites told David he would never get inside the city, but David captured their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City”. ₆David said, “The first man to kill a Jebusite will be commander of the army!” Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, led the attack and became commander. ₇Because David went to live in the fortress, it came to be called “David's City”. ₈He rebuilt the city, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ₉David grew stronger and stronger, because the LORD Almighty was with him.

₁₀This is the list of David's famous soldiers. Together with the rest of the people of Israel, they helped him to become king, as the LORD had promised, and they kept his kingdom strong.

₁₁First was Jashobeam of the clan of Hachmon, the leader of “The Three”. He fought with his spear against 300 men and killed them all in one battle. ₁₂Next among the famous “Three” was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh. ₁₃He fought on David's side against the Philistines at the battle of Pas Dammim. He was in a barley field when the Israelites started to run away, ₁₄so he and his men made a stand in the middle of the field and fought the Philistines. The LORD gave him a great victory.

₁₅One day three of the thirty leading soldiers went to a rock where David was staying near the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. ₁₆At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. ₁₇David got homesick and said, “How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem!” ₁₈The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the LORD ₁₉and said, “I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it. These were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.

₂₀Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of “The Famous Thirty”. He fought with his spear against 300 men and killed them, and became famous among “The Thirty”. ₂₁He was the most famous of “The Thirty” and became their leader, but he was not as famous as “The Three”.

₂₂Benaiah son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel was a famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ₂₃He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man over two metres tall, who was armed with a gigantic spear. Benaiah attacked him with a club, snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with it. ₂₄Those were the brave deeds of Benaiah, who was one of “The Thirty”. ₂₅He was outstanding among “The Thirty”, but not as famous as “The Three”. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

_26-47These are the other outstanding soldiers:

₁David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced, reliable soldiers, ₂members of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged. They could shoot arrows and sling stones either right handed or left handed. _3-7They were under the command of Ahiezer and Joash, sons of Shemaah, from Gibeah.

These were the soldiers:

₈These are the names of the famous, experienced soldiers from the tribe of Gad who joined David's troops when he was at the desert fort. They were experts with shields and spears, as fierce-looking as lions and as quick as mountain deer. _9-13They were ranked in the following order: Ezer, Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Machbannai.

₁₄Some of these men from the tribe of Gad were senior officers in command of a thousand men, and others were junior officers in command of a hundred. ₁₅In the first month of one year, the time when the River Jordan overflowed its banks, they crossed the river, scattering the people who lived in the valleys both east and west of the river.

₁₆Once a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went out to the fort where David was. ₁₇David went to meet them and said, “If you are coming as friends to help me, you are welcome here. Join us! But if you intend to betray me to my enemies, even though I have not tried to hurt you, the God of our ancestors will know it and punish you.”

₁₈God's Spirit took control of one of them, Amasai, who later became the commander of “The Thirty”, and he called out,

₁₉Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David's side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually he did not help the Philistines, for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag. ₂₀These are the soldiers from Manasseh who went over to David's side when he was returning: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. In Manasseh they had all commanded units of a thousand men. ₂₁They served David as officers over his troops, because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army. ₂₂Almost every day new men joined David's forces, so that his army was soon enormous.

_23-37When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul, as the LORD had promised. Their numbers were as follows:

₃₈All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. ₃₉They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which other Israelites had prepared for them. ₄₀From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food — flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.

₁King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of a thousand men and units of a hundred men. ₂Then he announced to all the people of Israel, “If you give your approval and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns, and tell them to assemble here with us. ₃Then we will go and fetch God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king.” ₄The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it.

₅So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country, from the Egyptian border in the south to Hamath Pass in the north, in order to bring the Covenant Box from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. ₆David and the people went to the city of Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, in the territory of Judah, to fetch the Covenant Box of God, which bears the name of the LORD enthroned above the winged creatures. ₇At Abinadab's house they brought out the Covenant Box and put it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio guided the cart, ₈while David and all the people danced with all their might to honour God. They sang and played musical instruments — harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.

₉As they came to the threshing place of Chidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah stretched out his hand and took hold of the Covenant Box. ₁₀At once the LORD became angry with Uzzah and killed him for touching the box. He died there in God's presence, ₁₁and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah ever since. David was furious because the LORD had punished Uzzah in anger.

₁₂Then David was afraid of God and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?” ₁₃So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. ₁₄It stayed there three months, and the LORD blessed Obed Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.