The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still shut up, because of Saul, the son of Kish; they were among the strong men, his helpers in war.
1
David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced, reliable soldiers,
2 They were armed with bows, and were able to send stones, and arrows from the bow, with right hand or left: they were Saul's brothers, of Benjamin.
2
members of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged. They could shoot arrows and sling stones either right-handed or left-handed.
3 Ahiezer was their chief, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite;
3
They were under the command of Ahiezer and Joash, sons of Shemaah, from Gibeah. These were the soldiers: Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth Beracah and Jehu from Anathoth Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a famous soldier and one of the leaders of "The Thirty" Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johannan, and Jozabad, from Gederah Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah, from Hariph Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, of the clan of Korah Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham, from Gedor
4 And Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a great man among the thirty, and their chief; and Jeremiah and Jehaziel 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, siding with David, went to his strong place in the waste land, great and strong men, trained for war, expert in the use of arms, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were quick-footed like roes on the mountains;
8
These are the names of the famous, experienced soldiers from the tribe of Gad who joined David's troops when he was at the desert fort. They were experts with shields and spears, as fierce looking as lions and as quick as mountain deer.
9 Ezer their chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,
9
They were ranked in the following order: Ezer, Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Machbannai.
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 Gadites were captains of the army; the least of them was captain over a hundred men, and the greatest over a thousand.
14
Some of these men from the tribe of Gad were senior officers in command of a thousand men, and others were junior officers in command of a hundred.
15 It was they who went over Jordan in the first month, when the river was overflowing, and put to flight all the people of the valleys, to the east and to the west.
15
In the first month of one year, the time when the Jordan River overflowed its banks, they crossed the river, scattering the people who lived in the valleys both east and west of the river.
16 And some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to David in his strong place.
16
Once a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went out to the fort where David was.
17 And David went out to them, and said to them, If you have come in peace to give me help, my heart will be united with yours; but if you have come to give me up to those who would take my life, though my hands are clean from wrongdoing, then may the God of our fathers see it and give you punishment.
17
David went to meet them and said, "If you are coming as friends to help me, you are welcome here. Join us! But if you intend to betray me to my enemies, even though I have not tried to hurt you, the God of our ancestors will know it and punish you."
18 Then the spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, We are yours, David, we are on your side, O son of Jesse: may peace be with you and peace be with your helpers; for God is your helper. Then David took them into his army and made them captains of the band.
18
God's spirit took control of one of them, Amasai, who later became the commander of "The Thirty," and he called out, "David son of Jesse, we are yours! Success to you and those who help you! God is on your side." David welcomed them and made them officers in his army.
19 And some of the men of Manasseh came over to David, when he went with the Philistines to the war against Saul, but he gave them no help: for the lords of the Philistines, after discussion, sent him away, saying, He will go back to his master Saul, at the price of our lives.
19
Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David's side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually he did not help the Philistines, for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag.
20 Then when he went back to Ziklag, there came over to him, of the men of Manasseh, Adnah and Jozabad and Jediael and Michael and Jozabad and Elihu and Zillethai, captains of thousands from the armies of Manasseh.
20
These are the soldiers from Manasseh who went over to David's side when he was returning: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. In Manasseh they had all commanded units of a thousand men.
21 And they gave David help against the armed bands, for they were all great men of war, and captains in the army.
21
They served David as officers over his troops, because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army.
22 And from day to day more supporters came to David, till he had a great army like the army of God.
22
Almost every day new men joined David's forces, so that his army was soon enormous.
23 These are the numbers of the chiefs of the armed men, ready for war, who came to David at Hebron, to give the kingdom of Saul into his hands, as the Lord had said.
23
When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul, as the Lord had promised. Their numbers were as follows: Judah: 6,800 well-equipped men, armed with shields and spears; Simeon: 7,100 well-trained men; Levi: 4,600 men; Followers of Jehoiada, descendant of Aaron: 3,700 men; Relatives of Zadok, an able young fighter: 22 leading men; Benjamin (Saul's own tribe): 3,000 men (most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul); Ephraim: 20,800 men famous in their own clans; West Manasseh: 18,000 men chosen to go and make David king; Issachar: 200 leaders, together with the men under their command (these leaders knew what Israel should do and the best time to do it); Zebulun: 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight, trained to use all kinds of weapons; Naphtali: 1,000 leaders, together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears; Dan: 28,600 trained men; Asher: 40,000 men ready for battle; Tribes east of the Jordan - Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh: 120,000 men trained to use all kinds of weapons.
24 There were six thousand, eight hundred spearmen of the children of Judah, armed for war;
25 Seven thousand, one hundred of the children of Simeon, great men of war;
26 Of the children of Levi, four thousand, six hundred.
27 And Jehoiada, chief of the family of Aaron, and with him three thousand, seven hundred men;
28 And Zadok, a young man, great and strong in war, with twenty-two captains from his father's people.
29 And of the children of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul, three thousand; for up to that time the greater part of them had been true to Saul.
30 And of the children of Ephraim, twenty thousand, eight hundred great men of war, men of great name in their families.
31 And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand, listed by name, came to make David king.
32 And of the children of Issachar, there were two hundred chiefs, men who had expert knowledge of the times and what it was best for Israel to do, and all their brothers were under their orders.
33 Of Zebulun, there were fifty thousand men, who went out with the army, expert in ordering the fight, to give help with all sorts of arms; true-hearted men.
34 And of Naphtali, a thousand captains with thirty-seven thousand spearmen.
35 And of the Danites, twenty-eight thousand, six hundred, expert in ordering the fight.
36 And of Asher, forty thousand who went out with the army, expert in ordering the fight.
37 From the other side of Jordan, there were a hundred and twenty thousand of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the men of the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every sort of instrument of war.
38 All these men of war, expert in ordering the fight, came to Hebron with the full purpose of making David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were united in their desire to make David king.
38
All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose.
39 For three days they were there with David, feasting at his table, for their brothers had made ready food for them.
39
They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which their relatives had prepared for them.
40 And those who were near, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came with food on asses and camels and mules and oxen, with meal for food and cakes of figs and masses of grapes, and wine and oil and oxen and sheep in great numbers, for there was joy in Israel.
40
From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food - flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.