23:1 | |
23:2 | The spirit of the Lord had voice through me, his word was on my tongue. |
23:3 | The God of Israel said, the word of the Rock of Israel came to me: When an upright king is ruling over men, when he is ruling in the fear of God, |
23:4 | It is as the light of the morning, when the sun comes up, a morning without clouds; making young grass come to life from the earth. |
23:5 | For is not my house so with God? For he has made with me an eternal agreement, ordered in all things and certain: as for all my salvation and all my desire, will he not give it increase? |
23:6 | But the evil-doers, all of them, will be like thorns to be pushed away, because they may not be gripped in the hand: |
23:7 | But anyone touching them has to be armed with iron and the rod of a spear; and they will be burned with fire, every one of them. |
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23:8 | |
23:9 | After him was Eleazar, the son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three great fighters, who was with David in Pas-dammim when the Philistines came together there for the fight; and when the men of Israel had gone in flight, |
23:10 | He was with David and went on fighting the Philistines till his hand became tired and stiff from gripping his sword: and that day the Lord gave a great salvation, and the people came back after him only to take the goods of the Philistines. |
23:11 | After him was Shammah, the son of Ela the Hararite. And the Philistines came together in Lehi, where there was a bit of land full of seed; and the people went in flight from the Philistines. |
23:12 | But he kept his place in the middle of the bit of land, and kept back their attack and overcame the Philistines: and the Lord gave a great salvation. |
23:13 | And three of the thirty went down at the start of the grain-cutting, and they came to David at the strong place of Adullam; and the band of Philistines had taken up their position in the valley of Rephaim. |
23:14 | And at that time David had taken cover in the strong place, and an armed force of the Philistines was in Beth-lehem. |
23:15 | And David, moved by a strong desire, said, If only someone would give me a drink of water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem, by the doorway into the town! |
23:16 | And the three men, forcing their way through the Philistine army, got water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem, by the doorway into the town, and took it back to David: but he would not take it, but, draining it out, made an offering of it to the Lord. |
23:17 | And he said, Far be it from me, O Lord, to do this; how may I take as my drink the life-blood of men who have put their lives in danger? So he would not take it. These things did the three great men of war. |
23:18 | And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. He put to death three hundred with his spear, and he got for himself a name among the thirty. |
23:19 | Was he not the noblest of the thirty? so he was made their captain: but he was not equal to the first three. |
23:20 | And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a fighting man of Kabzeel, had done great acts; he put to death the two sons of Ariel of Moab: he went down into a hole and put a lion to death in time of snow: |
23:21 | And he made an attack on an Egyptian, a tall man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a stick, and pulling the spear out of the hands of the Egyptian, put him to death with that same spear. |
23:22 | These were the acts of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who had a great name among the thirty men of war. |
23:23 | He was honoured over the rest of the thirty, but he was not equal to the first three. And David put him over the fighting men who kept him safe. |
23:24 | Asahel, the brother of Joab, was one of the thirty; and Elhanan, the son of Dodai, of Beth-lehem, |
23:25 | Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, |
23:26 | Helez the Paltite, Ira, the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, |
23:27 | Abiezer the Anathothite, Sibbecai the Hushathite, |
23:28 | Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, |
23:29 | Heldai, the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai, the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, |
23:30 | Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the valleys of Gaash, |
23:31 | Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, |
23:32 | Eliahba the Shaalbonite, Jashen the Gunite, |
23:33 | Jonathan, the son of Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam, the son of Sharar the Hararite, |
23:34 | Eliphelet, the son of Ahasbai the Maacathite, Eliam, the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, |
23:35 | Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Archite, |
23:36 | Igal, the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, |
23:37 | Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, who had the care of the arms of Joab, son of Zeruiah, |
23:38 | Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, |
23:39 | Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in number. |