2Sa 23 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now these are the last words of David . David the son of Jesse declares , The man who was raised on high , The anointed of the God of Jacob And the sweet psalmist of Israel , declares ,

2 Samuel 23

David’s Last Song

1 Now these are the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse declares,
^aThe man who was raised on high,
^bThe anointed of the God of Jacob
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, declares,
2 “ ^cThe Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 “The God of Israel said it;
^dThe Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘ ^eHe who rules over mankind righteously,
^fWho rules in the fear of God,
4 ^gIs like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
From sunshine after rain.’
5 “Is my house not indeed so with God?
For ^hHe has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Properly ordered in all things, and secured;
For will He not indeed make
All my salvation and all my delight grow?
6 “ ⁱBut the worthless, every one of them, are like scattered thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 Instead, the man who touches them
Must be ^{▼▼Lit filled}armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And ^kthey will be completely burned with fire in their ^{▼▼Lit sitting}place.”

David’s Mighty Men

8 ^mThese are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the ^{▼▼Or three}captains; he was called Adino the Eznite because of eight hundred who were killed by him at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of ^oDodo the ^pAhohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had ^{▼▼Lit gone up}withdrawn. 10 ^rHe rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and ^{▼▼Lit his hand}it clung to the sword, and ^tthe Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder the dead.

11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee, a ^uHararite. And the Philistines were gathered ^{▼▼Or possibly, at Lehi}into an army where there was a plot of land full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines; and ^wthe Lord brought about a great victory.

13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David at harvest time to the ^xcave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camping in ^ythe Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then ^zin the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And ^aaDavid had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 ^abSo the three mighty men forced their way into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and carried it and brought it to David. Yet he would not drink it, but ^acpoured it out as an offering to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Far be it from me, Lord, that I would do this! ^adShould I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

18 Now ^aeAbishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was ^afchief of the ^{▼▼As in two Heb mss and Syriac; MT three}thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred ^{▼▼Lit slain ones}and killed them, and had a name ^{▼▼Lit among the}as well as the three. 19 He was the most honored among the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the reputation of the three.

20 Then ^ajBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of ^akKabzeel, who had done great deeds, ^{▼▼Lit struck}killed the ^{▼▼Or two warriors of Moab}two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he ^{▼▼Lit struck}killed an Egyptian, ^{▼▼Lit a man of appearance}an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things ^apBenaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name ^{▼▼Lit among the}as well as the three mighty men. 23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the three. And David appointed him over his bodyguard.

24 ^arAsahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; and there was Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 ^asShammah the ^atHarodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the ^auTekoite, 27 Abiezer the ^avAnathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the ^awNetophathite, 29 ^axHeleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^ayGibeah of the sons of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a ^azPirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of ^baGaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the ^bbBarhumite, 32 Eliahba the ^bcShaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 ^bdShammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of ^bethe Maacathite, ^bfEliam the son of ^bgAhithophel the Gilonite, 35 ^bhHezro the ^biCarmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of ^bjZobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the ^bkBeerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the ^blIthrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and ^bmUriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.