1 Chronicles 12:23-40

The Voice

²³ This is a record of the divisions who joined David at Hebron to defeat Saul and conquer Israel as the Eternal determined.

²⁴ Of Judah 6,800 fought with spears and shields. ²⁵ Of Simeon, 7,100 were warriors. ²⁶ Of Levi 4,600 supported David— ²⁷ Jehoiada led 3,700 of the house of Aaron; ²⁸ Zadok, a young mighty man of valor, led 22 captains of his father’s house. ²⁹ Of Benjamin (Saul’s relatives), only 3,000 followed David because many maintained allegiance to their king, Saul. ³⁰ Of Ephraim 20,800 were famous warriors. ³¹ Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000 helped to make David king. ³² Of Issachar (politically savvy men), 200 were chiefs of their own relatives. ³³ Of Zebulun 50,000 fought with various weapons and followed David with complete devotion. ³⁴ Of Naphtali 1,000 chiefs led 37,000 who fought with spears and shields. ³⁵ Of Dan 28,600 were skilled at keeping ranks. ³⁶ Of Asher 40,000 joined the ranks of the army able to keep formation. ³⁷ From the other side of the Jordan, 120,000 of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh fought with various weapons. ³⁸ All these warriors came to Hebron wholeheartedly to support King David as he ascended to the throne of Israel. All others living in Israel recognized David’s right to rule, ³⁹ and they celebrated with David three days with the food and drink their relatives had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Their kinsmen and the neighboring tribes (even as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali) brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—large amounts of flour cakes, fig cakes, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. All of Israel rejoiced.