1 Chronicles 12
Open in the reader1Now these were the men who came to Beloved at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Asked-For son of Bow (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle;
2they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Asked-For’s kinsmen from Son-of-the-Right-Hand):
3My-Brother-Is-Help their chief and He-Who-Is-Strong, who were the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Deliverance, the sons of Death-Is-Strong; Blessing; He-Who-Is-He the Of-Answers;
4He-Who-Is-Hears the Hill-Town-Folk, a mighty man among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty;
5He-Who-Is-Will-Rise, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite;
6God-Is-My-Strength, Heights, He-Who-Is-Lord, He-Who-Is-Has-Kept, and He-Who-Is-Has-Judged the Haruphite;
7God-Has-Acquired, He-Who-Is-Forgets, God-Has-Helped, Joezer, and The-People-Will-Return, who were Shaven-Ones;
8and Joelah and He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed, the sons of May-He-Be-Shown-Compassion from Walled-Place.
9Some Fortune-One defected to Beloved at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:
10Help the chief, Servant-of-He-Who-Is the second in command, My-God-Is-Father the third,
11Mishmannah the fourth, He-Who-Is-Will-Rise the fifth,
12Timely the sixth, My-God-Is-God the seventh,
13He-Who-Is-Has-Been-Gracious the eighth, God-Has-Endowed the ninth,
14He-Who-Is-Will-Rise the tenth, and Of-Machbenah the eleventh.
15These children of Fortune were army commanders, the least of whom was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand.
16These are the ones who crossed the Descender in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.
17Other Benjamites and some men from Praised also came to Beloved in his stronghold.
18And Beloved went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”
19Then the Spirit came upon Burden-Bearer, the chief of the Thirty, and he said : “We are yours, O Beloved! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So Beloved received them and made them leaders of his troops.
20Some from Causing-to-Forget defected to Beloved when he went with the Philistines to fight against Asked-For. (They did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers consulted and sent Beloved away, saying, “It will cost us our heads if he defects to his master Asked-For.”)
21When Beloved went to Ziklag, these men of Causing-to-Forget defected to him: Pleasure, He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed, Known-by-God, Who-Is-Like-God, He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed, He-Is-My-God, and My-Shadow, chiefs of thousands in Causing-to-Forget.
22They helped Beloved against the raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and commanders in the army.
23For at that time men came to Beloved day after day to help him, until he had a great army, like the army of God.
24Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to Beloved at Association to turn Asked-For’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of He-Who-Is:
25From Praised: 6,800 armed troops bearing shields and spears.
26From Heard: 7,100 mighty men of valor, ready for battle.
27From Joined: 4,600,
28including He-Who-Is-Knows, leader of the house of Aaron, with 3,700 men,
29and Righteous, a mighty young man of valor, with 22 commanders from his own family.
30From Son-of-the-Right-Hand, the kinsmen of Asked-For: 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Asked-For up to that time.
31From Double-Fruit: 20,800 mighty men of valor, famous among their own clans.
32From the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget: 18,000 designated by name to come and make Beloved king.
33From There-Is-Reward, men who understood the times and knew what Strives-with-God should do: 200 chiefs with all their kinsmen at their command.
34From Dwelling: 50,000 fit for service, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, who with one purpose were devoted to Beloved.
35From My-Wrestling: 1,000 commanders, accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.
36From Judge-people: 28,600 prepared for battle.
37From Happy: 40,000 fit for service, prepared for battle.
38And from east of the Descender, from See-a-Son-One, Fortune-One, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget there: 120,000 armed with every kind of weapon of war.
39All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Association fully determined to make Beloved king over all Strives-with-God. And all the rest of the children of Strives-with-God were of one mind to make Beloved king.
40They spent three days there eating and drinking with Beloved, for their relatives had provided for them.
41And their neighbors from as far away as There-Is-Reward, Dwelling, and My-Wrestling came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant supplies of flour, fig cakes and raisin cakes, wine and oil, oxen and sheep. Indeed, there was joy in Strives-with-God.