1 Chronicles 12 (ERV) (2025)

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The Brave Men Who Joined David

12This is a list of the men who came to David while he was at Ziklag. This was when David was hiding from Saul son of Kish. These men helped David in battle. 2They could shoot arrows from their bows with either their right or left hand. They could also throw stones from their slings with either their right or left hand. They were Saul’s relatives from the tribe of Benjamin. They were

3Ahiezer, their leader, and Joash (sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite); Jeziel and Pelet (sons of Azmaveth); Beracah and Jehu from the town of Anathoth; 4Ishmaiah the Gibeonite (a hero and leader of the Thirty Heroes); Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from the Gederathites; 5Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, and Shemariah; Shephatiah from Haruph; 6Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, all from the tribe of Korah; 7and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from the town of Gedor.

The Gadites

8Part of the tribe of Gad joined David at his fortress in the desert. They were brave soldiers trained for war and skilled with the shield and spear. They looked as fierce as lions, and they could run as fast as gazelles through the mountains.

9Ezer was the leader of the army from the tribe of Gad. Obadiah was the second in command. Eliab was the third in command. 10Mishmannah was the fourth in command. Jeremiah was the fifth in command. 11Attai was the sixth in command. Eliel was the seventh in command. 12Johanan was the eighth in command. Elzabad was the ninth in command. 13Jeremiah was the tenth in command. Macbannai was the eleventh in command.

14These men were leaders of the Gadite army. The weakest from that group was worth 100 men, and the strongest was worth 1000 men.[a] 15They were the soldiers who crossed the Jordan River in the first month of the year, when it was flooded over its banks. They chased away the people in the valley who were on both sides of the river.

Other Soldiers Join David

16Other men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at the fortress. 17David went out to meet them and said, “If you have come in peace to help me, I welcome you. Join me. But if you have come to spy on me when I have done nothing wrong, may the God of our ancestors see what you did and punish you.”

18Amasai was the leader of the Thirty Heroes.[b] Then the Spirit came on Amasai, and he said,

“We are yours, David!
We are with you, son of Jesse.
Peace, peace to you.
Peace to those who help you,
because your God helps you.”

So David welcomed these men into his group and put them in charge of the troops.

19Some of the men from the tribe of Manasseh also joined David. They joined him when he went with the Philistines to fight Saul. But David and his men did not really help the Philistines. The Philistine leaders talked about David helping them, but then they decided to send him away. They said, “If David goes back to his master Saul, our heads will be cut off!” 20These were the men from Manasseh who joined David when he went to the town of Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. All of them were generals[c] from the tribe of Manasseh. 21They helped David fight against bad men who were going around the country and stealing things from people. All these men of Manasseh were brave soldiers. They became leaders in David’s army.

22More and more men came every day to help David. So he had a large and powerful army.

Other Men Join David at Hebron

23These are the numbers of the men who came to David at the town of Hebron. These men were ready for war. They came to give Saul’s kingdom to David. That is what the Lord said would happen. This is their number:

24From the tribe of Judah there were 6800 men ready for war. They carried shields and spears.

25From the tribe of Simeon there were 7100 men. They were brave soldiers ready for war.

26From the tribe of Levi there were 4600 men. 27Jehoiada was in that group. He was a leader from Aaron’s family. There were 3700 men with Jehoiada. 28Zadok was also in that group. He was a brave young soldier. He came with 22 officers from his family.

29From the tribe of Benjamin there were 3000 men. They were Saul’s relatives. Most of them stayed faithful to Saul’s family until that time.

30From the tribe of Ephraim there were 20,800 men. They were brave soldiers. They were famous men in their own families.

31From half the tribe of Manasseh there were 18,000 men. They were called by name to come and make David king.

32From the family of Issachar there were 200 wise leaders. These men understood the right thing for Israel to do at the right time. Their relatives were with them and under their command.

33From the tribe of Zebulun there were 50,000 trained soldiers. They were trained to use all kinds of weapons and were very loyal to David.

34From the tribe of Naphtali there were 1000 officers. They had 37,000 men with them. These men carried shields and spears.

35From the tribe of Dan there were 28,600 men ready for war.

36From the tribe of Asher there were 40,000 trained soldiers ready for war.

37From the east side of the Jordan River, there were 120,000 men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. They had all kinds of weapons.

38All these men were brave fighters. They came to the town of Hebron for one reason—to make David king of all Israel. All the other Israelites also agreed that David should be king. 39The men spent three days at Hebron with David. They ate and drank, because their relatives had prepared food for them. 40Also, their neighbors from the areas where the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali live brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and cattle. They brought much flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep. The people in Israel were very happy.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 12:14 The weakest … 1000 men Or “The smallest was commander over 100 men, the greatest over 1000 men.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 12:18 Thirty Heroes Or “The Three” or “the chariot officers.”
  3. 1 Chronicles 12:20 generals Literally, “leaders over 1000 men.”
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121-2These are the men who joined David in Ziklag; it was during the time he was banished by Saul the son of Kish; they were among the Mighty Men, good fighters. They were armed with bows and could sling stones and shoot arrows either right- or left-handed. They hailed from Saul’s tribe, Benjamin.

3-7The first was Ahiezer; then Joash son of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu the Anathothite; Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a Mighty Man among the Thirty, a leader of the Thirty; Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad the Gederathite; Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Haruphite; Elkanah; Isshiah; Azarel; Joezer; Jashobeam; the Korahites; and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

8-15There were some Gadites there who had defected to David at his wilderness fortress; they were seasoned and eager fighters who knew how to handle shield and spear. They were wild in appearance, like lions, but as agile as gazelles racing across the hills. Ezer was the first, then Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Macbannai—eleven of them. These Gadites were the cream of the crop—any one of them was worth a hundred lesser men, and the best of them were worth a thousand. They were the ones who crossed the Jordan when it was at flood stage in the first month, and put everyone in the lowlands to flight, both east and west.

16-17There were also men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah who joined David in his wilderness fortress. When David went out to meet them, this is what he said: “If you have come in peace and to help me, you are most welcome to join this company; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies, innocent as I am, the God of our ancestors will see through you and bring judgment on you.”

18Just then Amasai chief of the Thirty, moved by God’s Spirit, said,

We’re on your side, O David,
We’re committed, O son of Jesse;
All is well, yes, all is well with you,
And all’s well with whoever helps you.
Yes, for your God has helped and does help you.

So David took them on and assigned them a place under the chiefs of the raiders.

19Some from the tribe of Manasseh also defected to David when he started out with the Philistines to go to war against Saul. In the end, they didn’t actually fight because the Philistine leaders, after talking it over, sent them home, saying, “We can’t trust them with our lives—they’ll betray us to their master Saul.”

20-22The men from Manasseh who defected to David at Ziklag were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, all leaders among the families of Manasseh. They helped David in his raids against the desert bandits; they were all stalwart fighters and good leaders among his raiders. Hardly a day went by without men showing up to help—it wasn’t long before his band seemed as large as God’s own army!

* * *

23-37Here are the statistics on the battle-seasoned warriors who came down from the north to David at Hebron to hand over Saul’s kingdom, in accord with God’s word: from Judah, carrying shield and spear, 6,800 battle-ready; from Simeon, 7,100 stalwart fighters; from Levi, 4,600, which included Jehoiada leader of the family of Aaron, bringing 3,700 men and the young and stalwart Zadok with twenty-two leaders from his family; from Benjamin, Saul’s family, 3,000, most of whom had stuck it out with Saul until now; from Ephraim, 20,800, fierce fighters and famous in their hometowns; from the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000 elected to come and make David king; from Issachar, men who understood both the times and Israel’s duties, 200 leaders with their families; from Zebulun, 50,000 well-equipped veteran warriors, unswervingly loyal; from Naphtali, 1,000 chiefs leading 37,000 men heavily armed; from Dan, 28,600 battle-ready men; from Asher, 40,000 veterans, battle-ready; and from East of Jordan, men from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, heavily armed, 120,000.

38-40All these soldiers came to David at Hebron, ready to fight if necessary; they were both united and determined to make David king over all Israel. And everyone else in Israel was of the same mind—“Make David king!” They were with David for three days of feasting celebration, with food and drink supplied by their families. Neighbors ranging from as far north as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali arrived with donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded down with food for the party: flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep—joy in Israel!

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Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson

1 Chronicles 12 (ERV) (2025)

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