Today's Reading

1 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David at Hebron, saying, Here we are, your bone and your flesh.

2 Even previously, when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And Jehovah your God said to you, It is you who shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be ruler over My people Israel.

3 And all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. And David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah, and they anointed David king over Israel according to the word of Jehovah spoken by Samuel.

4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus; and the Jebusites were the inhabitants of the land there.

5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, You shall not come in here. But David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David.

6 And David said, Whoever strikes the Jebusites first will be the chief and the captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief.

7 So David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David.

8 And he built the city all around, from the Millo even unto the surrounding area, and Joab repaired the rest of the city.

9 And David became greater and greater, and Jehovah of hosts was with him.

10 And these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king according to the word of Jehovah concerning Israel.

11 And these are the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the thirty; he brandished his spear against three hundred, and they were slain at one time.

12 After him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite; he was among the three mighty men.

13 He was with David at Pas-dammim, and the Philistines gathered themselves there for battle, and there was a plot of land full of barley there; and the people fled before the Philistines.

14 But they stationed themselves in the midst of the plot and delivered it and struck the Philistines, and Jehovah accomplished a great salvation.

15 Now three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David in the cave of Adullam while the army of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

16 Now at that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem at that time.

17 And David said longingly, If only someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!

18 And the three burst through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate. And they carried it and brought it to David, but David would not drink it; rather he poured it out to Jehovah.

19 And he said, Far be it from me, before my God, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

20 And Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the three. And he brandished his spear against three hundred, who were slain; and he had a name among the three.

21 He was honored among the two of the thirty, and he became their leader; but he did not attain to the three.

22 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, was great in mighty deeds. He struck the two sons of Ariel the Moabite; he also went down and struck a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

23 And he struck an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. And the Egyptian had a spear in his hand like a weaver’s beam, but he went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the hand of the Egyptian and slew him with his own spear.

24 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and he had a name among the three mighty men.

25 He was indeed more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

26 And the mighty men of the armies were: Asahel the brother of Joab; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

27 Shammoth the Harodite; Helez the Pelonite;

28 Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; Abiezer the Anathothite;

29 Sibbecai the Hushathite; Ilai the Ahohite;

30 Maharai the Netophathite; Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite;

31 Ithai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin; Benaiah the Pirathonite;

32 Hurai from the brooks of Gaash; Abiel the Arbathite;

33 Azmaveth the Baharumite; Eliahba the Shaalbonite;

34 Of the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite;

35 Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite; Eliphal the son of Ur;

36 Hepher the Mecherathite; Ahijah the Pelonite;

37 Hezro the Carmelite; Naarai the son of Ezbai;

38 Joel the brother of Nathan; Mibhar the son of Hagri;

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

40 Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;

41 Uriah the Hittite; Zabad the son of Ahlai;

42 Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him;

43 Hanan the son of Maacah and Joshaphat the Mithnite;

44 Uzzia the Ashterathite; Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite;

45 Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite;

46 Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite;

47 Eliel and Obed and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

1 Now these are those who came to David at Ziklag while he was still hidden away because of Saul the son of Kish, and they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle.

2 They drew the bow, and with both right and left hands they could sling stones and shoot arrows with the bow; they were from among the brothers of Saul from Benjamin.

3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite;

4 And Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty and over the thirty; and Jeremiah and Jahaziel and Johanan and Jozabad the Gederathite;

5 Eluzai and Jerimoth and Bealiah and Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite;

6 Elkanah and Isshiah and Azarel and Joezer and Jashobeam, the Korahites;

7 And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

8 And some of the Gadites separated themselves unto David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men fit for the service of war, who could wield shield and spear and whose faces were like the faces of lions; and they were as swift as gazelles upon the mountains:

9 Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh.

14 These from among the sons of Gad were heads of the army; he who was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand.

15 These are the ones who crossed over the Jordan in the first month, when it overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all those of the valleys, to the east and to the west.

16 And some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold.

17 And David went out to meet them; and he responded and said to them, If you have come to me in peace in order to help me, my heart will be knit to you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, though there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers see and reprove.

18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the head of the thirty, and he said, We are yours, O David, / And are with you, O son of Jesse. / Peace, peace be with you, / And peace with those who help you; / For your God helps you. And David received them and made them heads of the troops.

19 And some from Manasseh fell away to David when he came with the Philistines for battle against Saul. (But they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines, upon deliberation, sent him away, saying, He will fall back to his master Saul at the cost of our heads.)

20 As he went to Ziklag, some fell away to him from Manasseh: Adnah and Jozabad and Jediael and Michael and Jozabad and Elihu and Zillethai, captains of thousands who were from Manasseh.

21 And they helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor, and they were captains of the army.

22 Indeed day by day they came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.

23 And these are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war and came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul unto him according to the word of Jehovah:

24 The children of Judah who carried shield and spear were six thousand eight hundred, armed for war;

25 Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valor for the war, seven thousand one hundred;

26 Of the children of Levi, four thousand six hundred.

27 And Jehoiada was the leader of the house of Aaron; and with him were three thousand seven hundred;

28 As well as Zadok, a young mighty man of valor; and from his father’s house, twenty-two captains;

29 And of the children of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul, three thousand; for until that time the greater part of them kept their allegiance to the house of Saul;

30 And of the children of Ephraim, twenty thousand eight hundred mighty men of valor, men of renown in their fathers’ houses;

31 And of the half-tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king.

32 And of the children of Issachar, men who understood the times that they might know what Israel should do, the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brothers were at their command;

33 Of Zebulun, those who were able to go forth in war, who could set the battle in array with all the equipment of war, were fifty thousand, and they helped David without a double heart;

34 And of Naphtali, one thousand captains, and with them, with shield and spear, thirty-seven thousand;

35 And of the Danites who could set the battle in array, twenty-eight thousand six hundred;

36 And of Asher, those who were able to go forth in war, who could set the battle in array, forty thousand;

37 And from the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all the equipment of war for the battle, one hundred twenty thousand.

38 All these, men of war who could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel as well were of one heart to make David king.

39 And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking; for their brothers had provided for them.

40 Moreover those near them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen — provisions of flour, cakes of figs, and clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, and oxen and sheep, in abundance; for there was joy in Israel.

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and said (there was a group of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty),

16 Men, brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who seized Jesus;

17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his portion of this ministry.

18 (Now this man acquired a piece of land with the wages of unrighteousness; and falling headlong, he burst in the middle, and all his inward parts gushed out.

19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so that that piece of land was called in their own dialect, Akeldamach, that is, Field of Blood.)

20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, “ Let his habitation become desolate, and let no one dwell in it”; and, “ His overseership let another take.”

21 It is necessary therefore that of the men who accompanied us all the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,

22 Beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which He was taken up from us, one of these should become a witness of His resurrection with us.

23 And they proposed two, Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed and said, You Lord, Knower of the hearts of all, show us clearly the one whom You have chosen of these two

25 To take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was counted with the eleven apostles.