2 Samuel 23

Now these are the last words of Dawud.

Dawud Ibn Jesse says,

The man who was raised on high says,

The anointed of the God of Yaqub,

The sweet singer of Israel:

²The Spirit of Allah spoke by me,

His word was on my tongue.

³The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spoke to me:

One who rules over men righteously,

Who rules in the fear of God,

⁴He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises,

A morning without clouds,

When the tender grass springs out of the earth,

Through clear shining after rain.

⁵Most assuredly my house is not so with God;

Yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

Ordered in all things, and sure:

For this is all my salvation, and all my desire;

Will he not make it increase?

⁶But the ungodly shall be all of them as thorns to be thrust away,

Because they cannot be taken with the hand.

⁷But the man who touches them

Must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear:

They shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.

⁸These are the names of the mighty men whom Dawud had: Josheb Basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; he was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. ⁹After him was Eleazar Ibn Dodai the son of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with Dawud, when they defied the Philistines who were gathered together for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. ¹⁰He arose, and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand froze to the sword; and Allah worked a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to take spoil. ¹¹After him was Shammah Ibn Agee a Hararite. The Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines. ¹²But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and killed the Philistines; and Allah worked a great victory. ¹³Three of the thirty chief men went down, and came to Dawud in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam; and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴Dawud was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁵Dawud longed, and said, Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! ¹⁶The three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to Dawud: but he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Allah. ¹⁷He said, Be it far from me, Allah, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. ¹⁸Abishai, the brother of Joab Ibn Zeruiah, was chief of the three. He lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name among the three. ¹⁹Was he not most honoured of the three? Therefore he was made their captain: however he did not attain to the first three. ²⁰Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab: he went down also and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. ²¹He killed an Egyptian, a handsome man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear. ²²These things did Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men. ²³He was more honoured than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. Dawud set him over his guard. ²⁴Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan Ibn Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira Ibn Ikkesh the Tekoite, ²⁷Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ²⁹Heleb Ibn Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai Ibn Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Binyamin, ³⁰Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash. ³¹Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam Ibn Sharar the Ararite, ³⁴Eliphelet Ibn Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam Ibn Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal Ibn Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armour-bearers to Joab Ibn Zeruiah, ³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.