David became the king
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1 Then the people of Israel came to David at the town of Hebron and said to him, “Listen, we have the same ancestors that you have. 2 In the past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led our Israeli soldiers in our battles. You are the one to whom our God promised, ‘You will be the leader of my people; you will be their king.’ ”3 So all the Israeli elders came to David at Hebron. And David made a sacred agreement with them while Yahweh was listening. They anointed him with olive oil to set him apart to be the king of the Israeli people. That is what Yahweh had previously told the prophet Samuel would happen.
David's men captured Jerusalem
4 David and all the Israeli soldiers went to Jerusalem. At that time, Jerusalem was called Jebus, and the people who lived there were the Jebus people-group. 5 They said to David, “Your soldiers will not be able to get inside our city!” But David's \add soldiers captured the city, even though it had strong walls around it, and since then it has been called the City of David.
6 What happened was this: David said to his soldiers, “The one who leads our soldiers to attack the Jebus people-group will become the commander of all my army.” Joab, the son of Zeruiah, led the soldiers, so he became the commander of all the army.
7 After they captured the city with its strong walls around it, David moved there. That is why they named it the City of David. 8 David's workers rebuilt the city, starting where the land was filled in and extending to the wall that was around the city. Joab's men repaired the other parts of the city. 9 David became more and more powerful, because the Commander of the armies of angels was with him.
The list of David's mighty warriors
10 Yahweh had promised that David would become the king. And all the Israeli people supported David as their king.
There were many soldiers who helped David's kingdom to remain strong. 11 This is a list of David's most outstanding warriors:
Jashobeam was from the Hacmon clan. He was the leader of David's three most powerful soldiers. One time he fought against 300 of their enemies and killed them all with his spear.
12 Next was Eleazar, who was the son of Dodo from the clan of Ahoh. 13 One day he was with David at Pas Dammim when the soldiers of Philistia gathered there for the battle. There was a field of barley there. At first the Israeli soldiers ran away from the soldiers of Philistia, 14 but then David and Eleazar stopped in the middle of the field and fought to defend it and killed many of the soldiers of Philistia. Yahweh enabled them to win a great victory on that day.
15 One time three of David's 30 greatest warriors came to David when he was camping next to the huge rock outside the cave near Adullam. At that same time, the army of Philistia had camped in the nearby Rephaim Valley. 16 David was in a fortress, and some of the soldiers of Philistia were occupying Bethlehem. 17 One day David very much wanted some water to drink and said, “I wish that someone would bring me some water from the well near the gate at Bethlehem!” 18 So the three greatest warriors forced their way through the camp of Philistia soldiers and drew some water from the well, and brought it to David. But he would not drink it. Instead, he poured it out on the ground to be an offering to Yahweh. 19 He said, “Yahweh, it would certainly not be right for me to drink this water! That would be like drinking the blood of these men who were willing to die for me!” So he refused to drink it.
That was one of the things that David's three greatest warriors did.
20 Joab's younger brother Abishai was the leader of the 30 greatest warriors. One time Abishai fought 300 enemy soldiers with his spear and killed them. 21 So he became as famous as the three greatest warriors. He became their commander, even though he was not one of those three men.
22 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was a brave soldier from the town of Kabzeel who did great deeds. He killed two of the best warriors from the Moab people-group. One day he went down into a pit when snow was falling on the ground and killed a lion there. 23 He also killed a soldier from Egypt who was 7-1/2 feet tall. The soldier from Egypt carried a spear that was as long as a weaver's rod. Benaiah had only a club, but he grabbed the other man's spear and killed him with it. 24 Those are some of the things that Benaiah did. So he became as famous as the three greatest warriors. 25 He was more honored than the other members of the group of 30 great warriors, but he did not become a member of the group of the three most outstanding warriors. David appointed him to be the leader of his bodyguards.
26 These are the names of the great warriors:
Asahel, the younger brother of Joab;
Elhanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem;
27 Shammah, from the Harod clan;
Helez, from the Pelon clan;
28 Ira, the son of Ikkesh, from the town of Tekoa;
Abiezer, from the city of Anathoth;
29 Sibbecai, from Hushah's clan;
Ilai from Ahoh's clan;
30 Maharai, from the town of Netophah;
Heled, the son of Baanah, also from Netophah;
31 Ithai, the son of Ribai, from the town of Gibeah in the land that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin;
Benaiah, from the town of Pirathon;
32 Hurai, from the valleys near Mount Gaash,
Abiel, from the clan of Arabah;
33 Azmaveth, from the town of Baharum;
Eliahba, from the town of Shaalbon;
34 The sons of Hashem, from the Gizon clan;
Jonathan, the son of Shagee, from the town of Harar;
35 Ahiam, the son of Sharar (OR, Sacar), also from Harar;
Eliphal, the son of Ur;
36 Hepher, from the clan of Mekerath;
Ahijah, from the clan of Pelon;
37 Hezro, from the city of Carmel;
Naarai, the son of Ezbai;
38 Joel, the younger brother of Nathan;
Mibhar, the son of Hagri;
39 Zelek, from the Ammon people-group;
Naharai, the man who carried Joab's weapons, from the town of Beeroth;
40 Ira and Gareb, from the town of Jattir;
41 Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, from the Heth people-group;
Zabad, the son of Ahlai;
42 Adina, the son of Shiza, a leader from the tribe of Reuben, who had 30 soldiers with him;
43 Hanan, the son of Maacah;
Joshaphat, from the town of Mithna;
44 Uzzia, from the town of Ashterath;
Shama and Jeiel, the sons of Hotham, from the city of Aroer;
45 Jediael, the son of Shimri,
and his younger brother, Joha, from the town of Tiz;
46 Eliel, from the town of Mahavah;
Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam;
Ithmah, from the Moab region;
47 Eliel and Obed,
and Jaasiel from the town of Mezobah.