¹ And these are the last words of David, the saying of David the son of Jesse, and the saying of the man raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet singer of Israel:

² The Spirit of Jehovah has spoken by me, and His Word is on my tongue.

³ The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: One ruling over man righteously, who rules in the fear of God,

⁴ is as the light of the morning, as the sun shines; a morning without clouds; through shining after rain the tender grass sprouts from the earth.

⁵ For is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and sure; for all my salvation, and all my desire, will He not make it grow?

⁶ As to the ungodly, all of them shall be as a thorn driven away; for they cannot be taken by the hand;

⁷ but the man who shall touch them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear; they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.

⁸ These are the names of the mighty ones who were called to David: Josheb-basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief of the three. He was called Adino the Eznite, because of the eight hundred he killed at one time.

⁹ And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the son of Ahohite. He was of the three mighty men with David when they taunted the Philistines, when they were gathered there to battle; and the men of Israel went up;

¹⁰ he rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And Jehovah worked a great salvation on that day, and the people returned after him only to plunder.

¹¹ And next was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines had gathered into a company, and there was a piece of ground full of lentils, and the people had fled before the Philistines.

¹² And he set himself in the midst of the plot, and delivered it, and struck the Philistines. And Jehovah worked out a great salvation.

¹³ And three of the thirty commanders went down and came to the harvest, to David, to the cave of Adullam. And the company of the Philistines was camping in the Valley of the Giants.

¹⁴ And David was then in a stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

¹⁵ And David longed, and said, Who shall give me drink from the water of the well of Bethlehem beside the gate?

¹⁶ And the three mighty ones cut through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem beside the gate, and took it up, and brought it to David. But he was not willing to drink it, and poured it out to Jehovah;

¹⁷ and said, Far be it from me, O Jehovah, to do this; is it not the blood of the men who went with their lives? And he was not willing to drink it. The three mighty ones did these things .

¹⁸ And Abishai the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the commander of three. And he raised up his spear against three hundred, and killed them . And he had the name among the three.

¹⁹ Surely he was honored more than the three? And he was the commander to them, but he did not come to the first three.

²⁰ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel, a son of a mighty man, great in deeds; he killed two lionlike men of Moab. And he went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit in a day of snow.

²¹ And he killed an Egyptian, a man of form; and a spear was in the Egyptian's hand; and he went down to him with a staff and tore away the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.

²² Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did these things , and had a name among three mighty ones.

²³ He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not come to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

²⁴ Asahel the brother of Joab was of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

²⁵ Shammah the Harodite; Elika the Harodite;

²⁶ Helez the Paltite; Ira the son of Ikkesh, the Tekoite;

²⁷ Abiezer the Anathothite; Mebunnai the Hushathite;

²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai the Netophathite;

²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite; Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah, of the sons of Benjamin;

³⁰ Benaiah the Pirathonite; Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash;

³¹ Abialbon the Arbathite; Azmaveth the Barhumite;

³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen; Jonathan;

³³ Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam the son of Sharar, the Hararite;

³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite; Eliam the son of Ahithophel, the Gilonite;

³⁵ Hezrai the Carmelite; Paarai the Arbite;

³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani the Gadite;

³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai the Beerothite, armor-bearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah;

³⁸ Ira the Ithrite; Gareb, an Ithrite;

³⁹ Uriah the Hittite; thirty seven in all.