1 Chronicles 12

²So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

³David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

³⁹Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

¹After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.

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.

¹⁰when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!

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.

¹⁶Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.

¹⁵And again they cried out to the Lord, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

²⁹From Benjamin, the kinsmen of Saul: 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Saul up to that time.

⁴⁹Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

²⁸Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite,

⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.

⁶let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” “I will give them to you,” said the king.

³³Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

³But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

³⁶Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—fourteen cities, along with their villages.

¹⁷So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

¹⁸But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.

¹⁵Three 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.

⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor,

¹⁸These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah. Mered also took a Judean wife, who gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.

³⁹and they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, in search of pasture for their flocks.

¹⁸The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,

¹⁰Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.

²⁰And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.

²²So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

¹⁴And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.

⁹Advance, O horses! Race furiously, O chariots! Let the warriors come forth—Cush and Put carrying their shields, men of Lydia drawing the bow.

⁸Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

³⁰How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

¹⁵Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,

¹⁸When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before.

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?

¹⁹Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

²³When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

⁹But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

¹⁰I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.

¹¹Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

¹For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

¹³Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied.

³⁴So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.

¹⁰The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the Lord delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

⁶⁷So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”

⁶⁸Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

²⁵Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.

¹⁶But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

³⁰He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²As the Philistine leaders marched out with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.

³Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”

¹⁵So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.

¹⁷His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

²¹Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

¹¹So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

²⁴These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their families.

¹On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.

²They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.

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, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.

²⁰When David went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.

¹⁰Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

¹Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

⁹Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

²When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

¹⁴“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”

²Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

²So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

³David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.

³David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.

⁴Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

¹⁰Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

¹⁹You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

³Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”

¹Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.

²Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the Lord said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

¹⁷over Levi was Hashabiah son of Kemuel; over Aaron was Zadok;

⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons did all the work of the Most Holy Place. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰These were the descendants of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

⁴Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards, and had them brought into the house of the Lord. There he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king’s son

⁹So the commanders of hundreds did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest.

¹⁸The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

²⁰In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the Lord was with him.

⁸Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,

¹⁷Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;

⁵³Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

³⁵And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

¹⁵But the Levitical priests, who are descended from Zadok and who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, are to approach Me to minister before Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, declares the Lord God.

⁸But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.

⁸Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,

⁹and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.

²they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):

²³So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.

¹Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war.

²So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph.

¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

¹³Then the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.

⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

⁵⁷And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.

⁶He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.

¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

³³From Zebulun: 50,000 fit for service, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, who with one purpose were devoted to David.

⁷They charge like mighty men; they scale the walls like men of war. Each one marches in formation, not swerving from the course.

¹²So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.

¹³To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.)

⁷Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

⁸The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had assigned to them:

¹These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.

²And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.

³For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.

¹Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh

²and told them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.

³³So Moses gave to the Gadites, to the Reubenites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land including its cities and the territory surrounding them.

³⁴And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

⁸Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

⁹Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

⁶¹So let your heart be fully devoted to the Lord our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”

¹⁹And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,

¹²Moreover, the power of God was on the people in Judah to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and his officials according to the word of the Lord.

³Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.

¹⁷And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

¹⁸Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

³⁰So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

¹⁹Then he distributed to every man and woman among the multitude of Israel a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. And all the people departed, each to his own home.

⁵⁴Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

⁴²And all the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is our relative. Why does this anger you? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense or received anything for ourselves?”

¹⁸Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys

²When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

¹⁰When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

¹When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

²⁰and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been put to the sword at the royal palace.

⁵Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”

⁶And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.