Read the Bible

¹ And all Israel gathered to David, to Hebron, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.² And also in time past, even when Saul was king, you were he that led out and brought in Israel. And Jehovah your God said to you, You shall feed My people Israel, and you shall be ruler over My people Israel.³ And all the elders of Israel came in to the king at Hebron. And David cut a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah. And they anointed David as king over Israel, according to the Word of Jehovah, by the hand of Samuel.⁴ And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (it is Jebus) and the Jebusites the ones living in the land, were there.⁵ And the ones living in Jebus said to David, You shall not come in here. But David captured the fortress of Zion; it is the city of David.⁶ And David said, Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall become head and commander. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first and became head.⁷ And David lived in the fortress; on this account they called it the City of David.⁸ And he built the city all around, from Millo even all around. And Joab restored the rest of the city.⁹ And David was going on and increasing, for Jehovah of Hosts was with him.

¹⁰ And these were the heads of the mighty men who were to David, making themselves strong with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to cause him to reign over Israel, according to the Word of Jehovah.¹¹ And this is the number of the mighty men who were to David: Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, the head of the thirty; he lifted up his spear against three hundred, killing them at one time.¹² And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite; he was among the three mighty ones;¹³ he was with David in Pasdammim, and the Philistines had gathered there to battle; and a portion of the field was full of barley, and the people had fled from before the Philistines;¹⁴ and they set themselves in the midst of that portion, and delivered it, and struck the Philistines, and Jehovah saved by a great deliverance.¹⁵ And three of the thirty heads went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam. And the army of the Philistines was pitched in the Valley of the Giants.¹⁶ And David was then in the stronghold, and the command post of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.¹⁷ And David longed, and said, Who shall give me drink, water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate?¹⁸ And the three broke through the army of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem at the gate, and took it and brought to David. But David was not willing to drink it, and poured it out to Jehovah,¹⁹ and said, Far be it from me by my God, to do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men with their lives? For they have brought it with their lives. And he was not willing to drink it. The three mighty ones did these things.²⁰ And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was the chief of the three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and killed, and had a name among the three.²¹ Of the three, he was honored by the two, and became their head. But he did not come to the first three.²² Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of great deeds, from Kabzeel, he killed the two lion-like Moabites. And he went down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit in the snowy day.²³ And he killed an Egyptian man, a man of five cubits stature; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like the weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff and wrenched the spear outof the Egyptian's hand; and killed him withhis own spear.²⁴ These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name among the three mighty ones.²⁵ Behold, he was honored by the thirty, but to the first three he did not come. And David set him over his court.²⁶ And the mighty ones of the army were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,²⁷ Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anethothite,²⁹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite,³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,³² Hurai of the torrents of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,³⁴ the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite,³⁵ Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur,³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai,³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Haggi,³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah,⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai,⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, the head of the Reubenites, and thirty with him;⁴³ Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shamma and Jehiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite,⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah, sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite,⁴⁷ Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel the Mesobaite.