1 Chronicles 12

12 ¹ Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still kept away from the presence of Saul son of Kish; they were among the mighty warriors who helped him in battle.

² They were armed with bows and could shoot arrows or sling stones with either the right hand or the left; they were Benjaminites, Saul's own kinsmen. ³ Ahiezer was their chief, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu of Anathoth; ⁴ Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty warrior among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah; ⁵ Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ Some Gadites defected to David at the stronghold in the wilderness—mighty warriors, men trained for battle, skilled with shield and spear, with faces like lions and as swift as gazelles on the mountains:

⁹ Ezer was the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹ Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹² Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh.

¹⁴ These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand. ¹⁵ These were the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it overflows all its banks, and they drove off everyone in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Some of the men of Benjamin and Judah also came to David at the stronghold. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said to them, "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, though my hands are free of violence, may our Father of our fathers see it and judge you."

¹⁸ Then the Spirit of our Father clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said: "We are yours, David! We are with you, son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to those who help you, for your Father helps you." So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding band.

¹⁹ Some men from Manasseh also defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But David and his men did not help the Philistines, for after consultation their rulers sent David away, saying, "It will cost us our heads if he deserts to his master Saul." ²⁰ As he went to Ziklag, these were the men of Manasseh who defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, leaders of units of a thousand in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against the raiding bands, for they were all mighty warriors, and they became commanders in his army. ²² Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of our Father.

All Israel Musters at Hebron for David

²³ These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to him, just as our Father had said:

²⁴ from Judah, carrying shield and spear—6,800 armed for battle;

²⁵ from Simeon, mighty warriors ready for battle—7,100;

²⁶ from Levi—4,600, ²⁷ with Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, and 3,700 with him, ²⁸ and Zadok, a brave young warrior, with twenty-two officers from his own family.

²⁹ from Benjamin, Saul's kinsmen—3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to Saul's house until then;

³⁰ from Ephraim—20,800, mighty warriors, famous men in their own families;

³¹ from the half-tribe of Manasseh—18,000, designated by name to come and make David king;

³² from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

³³ from Zebulun—50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with every kind of weapon, ready to help David with undivided loyalty;

³⁴ from Naphtali—1,000 officers, and with them 37,000 men carrying shield and spear;

³⁵ from Dan—28,600 men ready for battle;

³⁶ from Asher—40,000 seasoned troops ready for battle;

³⁷ and from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—120,000 men armed with every kind of weapon.

³⁸ All these were fighting men who arrayed themselves in battle order; wholeheartedly they came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel, and all the rest of Israel too were of one mind to make David king. ³⁹ They spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, for their families had supplied provisions for them. ⁴⁰ Their neighbors too, from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep; for there was joy in Israel.