Chapter 10

¹ Now the Philistines warred against Israel; and they fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gelbue. ² And the Philistines pursued after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Aminadab, and Melchisue, sons of Saul. ³ And the battle prevailed against Saul, and the archers ¹hit him with bows and ²arrows, and they were wounded of the bows. ⁴ And Saul said to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and pierce me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mock me. But his armour-bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid: so Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. ⁵ And his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, and he also fell upon his sword. ⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons on that day, and all his family died at the same time. ⁷ And all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, and they left their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸ And it came to pass on the next day that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his sons fallen on mount Gelbue. ⁹ And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armour, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to proclaim the glad tidings to their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰ And they put their armour in the house of their god, and they put his head in the house of Dagon.

¹¹ And all the dwellers in Galaad heard of all that the Philistines ³had done to Saul and to Israel. ¹² And all the mighty men rose up from Galaad, and they took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabis, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabis, and fasted seven days. ¹³ So Saul died for his transgressions, wherein he transgressed against God, against the word of the Lord, forasmuch as he kept it not, because Saul enquired of a wizard to seek counsel, and Samuel the prophet answered him: ¹⁴ and he sought not the Lord: so he slew him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

Chapter 11

¹ And all Israel came to David in Chebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bones and thy flesh. ² And ⁴heretofore when Saul was king, thou wast he that led Israel in and out, and the Lord of Israel said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be for a ruler over Israel. ³ And all the elders of Israel came to the king to Chebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Chebron before the Lord: and they anointed David to be king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by ⁵Samuel.

⁴ And the king and his men went to Jerusalem,

544

this is Jebus; and there the Jebusites the inhabitants of the land said to David, ⁵ Thou shalt not enter in hither. But he took the strong hold of Sion: this is the city of David. ⁶ And David said, ⁶Whoever first smites the Jebusite, even he shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Saruia went up first, and became chief. ⁷ And David ⁷dwelt in the strong hold; therefore he called it the city of David. ⁸ And he ⁸fortified the city round about. ⁹ And David continued to increase, and the Lord Almighty was with him. ¹⁰ And these are the chiefs of the mighty men, whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

¹¹ And this is the ⁹list of the mighty men of David; Jesebada, son of Achaman, first of the thirty: he drew his sword once against three hundred ¹⁰whom he slew at one time. ¹² And after him Eleazar son of Dodai, the Achochite: he was among the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David in Phasodamin, and the Philistines were gathered there to battle, and there was a portion of the field full of barley; and the people fled before the Philistines. ¹⁴ And he stood in the midst of the portion, and rescued it, and smote the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great deliverance.

¹⁵ And three of the thirty chiefs went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Odollam, and the camp of the Philistines was in the giants' valley. ¹⁶ And David was then in the hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethleem. ¹⁷ And David longed, and said, Who will give me water to drink of the well of Bethleem, that is in the gate? ¹⁸ And the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and they drew water out of the well that was in Bethleem, which was in the gate, and they took it, and came to David: but David would not drink it, and poured it out to the Lord, and said, ^{19 11}God forbid that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men with their lives? for with the peril of their lives they brought it. So he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

²⁰ And Abisa the brother of Joab, he was chief of three: he drew his sword against three hundred slain at one time, and he had a name among the second three. ²¹ He was more famous than the two others of the three, and he was chief over them; yet he reached not to the first three.

²² And Banaia the son of Jodae was the son of a mighty man: many were his acts for Cabasael: he smote two ¹²lion-like men of Moab, and he went down and smote a lion in a pit on a snowy day. ²³ And he smote an Egyptian, a wonderful man five cubits high; and in the hand of the Egyptian there was a spear like a weavers' beam; and Banaia went down to him with a ¹³staff, and took the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things did Banaia son of Jodae, and his

545

name was among the three mighties. ²⁵ He was distinguished beyond the thirty, yet he reached not to the first three: and David set him over his family.

²⁶ And the mighty men of the forces were, Asael the brother of Joab, Eleanan the son of Dodoe of Bethleem, ²⁷ Samaoth the Arorite, Chelles the Phelonite, ²⁸ Ora the son of Ekkis the Thecoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ²⁹ Sobochai the Usathite, Eli the Achonite, ³⁰ Marai the Netophathite, Chthaod the son of Nooza the Netophathite, ³¹ Airi the son of Rebie of the hill of Benjamin, Banaias the Pharathonite, ³² Uri of ¹⁴Nachali Gaas, Abiel the Garabaethite, ³³ Azbon the Baromite, Eliaba the Salabonite, ³⁴ the son of Asam the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Sola the Ararite, ³⁵ Achim the son of Achar the Ararite, Elphat the son of Thyrophar ³⁶ the Mechorathrite, Achia the Phellonite, ³⁷ Esere the Charmadaite, Naarai the son of Azobai, ³⁸ Joel the son of Nathan, Mebaal son of Agari, ³⁹ Sele the son of Ammoni, Nachor the Berothite, armour-bearer to the son of Saruia, ⁴⁰ Ira the Jethrite, Gaber the Jethrite, ⁴¹ Uria the Chettite, Zabet son of Achaia, ⁴² Adina son of Sæza, a chief of Ruben, and thirty with him, ⁴³ Anan the son of Moöcha, and Josaphat the Matthanite, ⁴⁴ Ozia the Astarothite, Samatha and Jeiel sons of Chotham the Ararite, ⁴⁵ Jediel the son of Sameri, and Jozae his brother the Thosaite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Maoite, and Jaribi, and Josia his son, Ellaam, and Jethama the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Daliel, and Obeth, and Jessiel of Mesobia.