The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And there was again war at Gath, where was a champion, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him.

These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

And David spoke unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul;

and he said: The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

The God who is my rock, in Him I take refuge; my shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; my saviour, Thou savest me from violence.

Praised, I cry, is the LORD, and I am saved from mine enemies.

For the waves of Death compassed me. The floods of Belial assailed me.

The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of Death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD, yea, I called unto my God; and out of His temple He heard my voice, and my cry did enter into His ears.

Then the earth did shake and quake, the foundations of heaven did tremble; they were shaken, because He was wroth.

Smoke arose up in His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth did devour; coals flamed forth from Him.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet.

And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, He was seen upon the wings of the wind.

And He made darkness pavilions round about Him, gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

At the brightness before Him coals of fire flamed forth.

The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave forth His voice.

And He sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters;

He delivered me from mine enemy most strong, from them that hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the LORD was a stay unto me.

He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His ordinances were before me; and as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

And I was single-hearted toward Him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyes.

With the merciful Thou dost show Thyself merciful, with the upright man Thou dost show Thyself upright,

With the pure Thou dost show myself pure; and with the crooked Thou dost show Thyself subtle.

And the afflicted people Thou dost save; but Thine eyes are upon the haughty, that Thou mayest humble them.

For Thou art my lamp, O LORD; and the LORD doth lighten my darkness.

For by Thee I run upon a troop; by my God do I scale a wall.

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in Him.

For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a Rock, save our God?

The God who is my strong fortress, and who letteth my way go forth straight;

Who maketh my feet like hinds', and setteth me upon my high places;

Who traineth my hands for war, so that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.

Thou hast also given me Thy shield of salvation; and Thy condescension hath made me great.

Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped.

I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; neither did I turn back till they were consumed.

And I have consumed them, and smitten them through, that they cannot arise; yea, they are fallen under my feet.

For Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me; yea, them that hate me, that I might cut them off.

They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but He answered them not.

Then did I beat them small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the streets, and did tread them down.

Thou also hast delivered me from the contentions of my people; Thou hast kept me to be the head of the nations; a people whom I have not known serve me.

The sons of the stranger dwindle away before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

The sons of the stranger fade away, and come halting out of their close places.

The LORD liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God, my Rock of salvation;

Even the God that executeth vengeance for me, and bringeth down peoples under me,

And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies; yea, Thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me; Thou deliverest me from the violent man.

Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O LORD, among the nations, and will sing praises unto Thy name.

A tower of salvation is He to His king; and showeth mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed, for evermore.

Now these are the last words of David: The saying of David the son of Jesse, and the saying of the man raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet singer of Israel:

The spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was upon my tongue.

The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'Ruler over men shall be the righteous, even he that ruleth in the fear of God,

And as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds; when through clear shining after rain, the tender grass springeth out of the earth.'

For is not my house established with God? for an everlasting covenant He hath made with me, ordered in all things, and sure; for all my salvation, and all my desire, will he not make it to grow?

But the ungodly, they are as thorns thrust away, all of them, for they cannot be taken with the hand;

But the man that toucheth them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite; he lifted up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the son of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they jeoparded their lives against the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away;

he stood firm, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand did cleave unto the sword; and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.

And after him was Shammah the son of Age the Ararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.

But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD wrought a great victory.

And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam; and the troop of the Philistines were encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem.

And David longed, and said: 'Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate!'

And the three mighty men broke through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David; but he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.

And he said: 'Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this; shall I drink the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?' therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred and slew them, and had a name among the three.

He was most honourable of the three; therefore he was made their captain; howbeit he attained not unto the first three.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he smote the two altar-hearths of Moab; he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow;

and he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men.

He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem;

Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite;

Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite;

Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite;

Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite;

Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin;

Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of Nahale-gaash;

Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite;

Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan;

Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite;

Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite;

Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite;

Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite;

Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armour-bearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah;

Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite;

Uriah the Hittite. Thirty and seven in all.

And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying: 'Go, number Israel and Judah.'

And the king said to Joab the captain of the host that was with him: 'Go now to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the sum of the people.'

And Joab said unto the king: 'Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they may be, a hundredfold, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?'

Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

And they passed over the Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and unto Jazer;

then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, and round about to Zidon,

and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beer-sheba.