CHAPTER 12
Now these were the men
who came
to
David
at Ziklag,
while
he was still banished
from the presence
of Saul
son
of Kish.
They
were among the warriors
who helped
him in battle;
they were archers
using both the right
and left
to sling stones
and to shoot arrows;
they were Saul's
kinsmen
from Benjamin:
Ahiezer
their chief,
and Joash,
sons
of Shemaah
the Gibeathite;
Jeziel
and Pelet
the sons
of Azmaveth;
Beracah,
Jehu
the Anathothite,
Ishmaiah
the Gibeonite,
a mighty man
among the Thirty
and leader over
the Thirty;
Jeremiah,
Jahaziel,
Johanan,
Jozabad
the Gederathite,
Some
Gadites
defected
to David
at his stronghold
in the desert.
They were mighty warriors,
trained for battle,
experts
with shield
and spear,
whose faces were like
the faces
of lions
and who were as swift
as gazelles
on
the mountains:
These
Gadites
were army
commanders,
the least of whom
was a match for a hundred,
and the greatest
for a thousand.
These
are
the ones who
crossed
the Jordan
in the first
month
when it had overflowed
all
its banks,
and they put to flight
all those
in the valleys,
to the east
and to the west.
And 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
and judge you."
Then 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
will help you.”
So David
received
them and made
them leaders
of his troops.
Some
from Manasseh
defected
to
David
when he went
with
the Philistines
to fight
against Saul.
(They did not
help the Philistines
because
the Philistine
rulers
consulted
and sent David away,
saying,
“It will cost us our heads
if he defects
to
his master
Saul.")
When David went
to
Ziklag,
these men of Manasseh
defected
to him:
Adnah,
Jozabad,
Jediael,
Michael,
Jozabad,
Elihu,
and Zillethai,
chiefs
of thousands
in Manasseh.
They
helped
David
against
the raiders,
for
they were
all
mighty warriors
and commanders
in the army.
For
at that time,
men came
to
David
day
after day
to help him,
until
he had a great
army,
like the army
of God.
Now these are
the numbers
of men
armed
for battle
who came
to
David
at Hebron
to turn Saul’s
kingdom
over
to him,
in accordance with the word of
the LORD:
From the Benjamites,
the kinsmen
of Saul:
3,000,
most of whom
had remained
loyal to
the house
of Saul
up to
that time.
From the Issacharites,
who understood
the times
and knew
what
Israel
should do:
200
chiefs
with all
their kinsmen
at
their command.
From Zebulun:
50,000
fit for service,
trained
for battle
with all kinds
of weapons
of war,
who with one purpose
were devoted to David.
And from east
of the Jordan,
from
the Reubenites,
Gadites,
and
the half-tribe
of Manasseh there:
120,000
with every kind
of weapon
of war.
All
these
men
of war,
arrayed
for battle,
came
to Hebron
fully
determined
to make David
king
over
all
Israel.
And
all
the rest
of the Israelites
were of one
mind
to make David
king.
They spent
three
days
there
eating
and drinking
with
David,
for their relatives
had provided for them.
And their neighbors
from as far away as
Issachar,
Zebulun,
and Naphtali
came bringing
food
on donkeys,
camels,
mules,
and oxen—
abundant supplies
of flour,
fig cakes
and
raisin cakes,
wine
and oil,
oxen
and sheep.
Indeed,
there was joy
in Israel.