The Last Words of David
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Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of 1the man who was raised on high, 2the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:a
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The God of Israel has spoken; 4the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling 5in the fear of God,
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he 6dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rainb that makes grass to sprout from the earth
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"For does not my house stand so with God? 7For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?
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But worthless menc are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand;
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but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire."d
David's Mighty Men
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8These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: 9Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.e He wielded his spearf against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.
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And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of 10Dodo, son of 11Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew.
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He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.
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And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the 12Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines.
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But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory.
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And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the 13cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped 14in the Valley of Rephaim.
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And David said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"
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Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD
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and said, "Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink 17the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
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Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.g And he wielded his spear against three hundred menh and killed them and won a name beside the three.
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He was the most renowned of the thirtyi and became their commander, but he did not attain to 18the three
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And 19Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant manj of 20Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two arielsk of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.
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And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear
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These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men.
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He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.
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Heleb the son of Baanah 28of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of 29Gibeah of the people of Benjamin,
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Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)