1 Chronicles 11
David Becomes King of All Israel
1Then all Israel gathered before David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood.
2In the past,
3So there at Hebron, David made a covenant before the LORD with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel, just as the LORD had promised through Samuel.
David Captures Jerusalem 4Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (or Jebus, as it used to be called), where the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were living. 5The people of Jebus taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here!” But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.
6David had said to his troops, “Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!” And Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David’s armies.
7David made the fortress his home, and that is why it is called the City of David.
8He extended the city from the supporting terraces
David’s Mightiest Warriors 10These are the leaders of David’s mighty warriors. Together with all Israel, they decided to make David their king, just as the LORD had promised concerning Israel.
11Here is the record of David’s mightiest warriors: The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the mightiest warriors among David’s men.
12Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai,
15Once when David was at the rock near the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. 16David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.
17David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.”
18So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD.
19“God forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men
David’s Thirty Mighty Men
20Abishai, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty.
22There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions
26David’s mighty warriors also included:Asahel, Joab’s brother;