\v 2 In the recent past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led the Israelite army. Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become a ruler over my people Israel.'"
\v 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them before Yahweh. They anointed David king over Israel. In this way, the word of Yahweh that had been declared by Samuel came true.
\v 6 David had said, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites first will become chief and commander." So Joab son of Zeruiah attacked first, so he was made the chief.
\v 10 These were the leaders David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, obeying the word of Yahweh concerning Israel.
\v 11 This is a list of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, was commander of the officers \f + \ft The Hebrew could also read \fqa of the thirty \fqa* or \fqa of the three. \f*. He killed three hundred men with his spear on one occasion.
\v 12 After him was Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men.
\v 13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines assembled together for battle, where there was a barley field and the army fled from the Philistines.
\v 15 Then three of the thirty leaders went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam. The army of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim.
\v 17 David was longing for water and said, "If only someone would give me water to drink from the well at Bethlehem, the well that is by the gate!"
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\v 18 So these three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, the well at the gate. They took the water and brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to Yahweh.
\v 19 Then he said, "May it be that I should never do this! Should I drink the blood of these men who have risked their lives?" Because they had put their lives at risk, David refused to drink it. These were the deeds of the three mighty men.
\v 20 Abishai brother of Joab, was captain over the Three. He once used his spear against three hundred and killed them. He is mentioned along with the Three.
\v 22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a strong man who did mighty feats. He killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion while it was snowing.
\v 23 He even killed an Egyptian, a man five cubits tall. The Egyptian had a spear like a weaver's beam, but he went down to him with only a staff. He seized the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.
\v 25 He was more highly regarded than the thirty soldiers in general, but he was not regarded quite as highly as the three mighty men. Yet David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
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