1 Chronicles 12:1

Contemporary English Version

Some time earlier, David had gone to live in the town of Ziklag to escape from King Saul. While David was there, several brave warriors joined him to help fight his battles.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.

Hebrew Names Version
Now these are those who came to David to Tziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Sha'ul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

King James Version
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war.

English Standard Version
Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.

New Century Version
These were the men who came to David at Ziklag when David was hiding from Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped David in battle.

New English Translation
These were the men who joined David in Ziklag, when he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish. (They were among the warriors who assisted him in battle.

Amplified Bible
These are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he still concealed himself from Saul the son of Kish; they were among the courageous men who helped him in battle.

New American Standard Bible
Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.

World English Bible
Now these are those who came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

Geneva Bible (1587)
These also are they that came to Dauid to Ziklag, while he was yet kept close, because of Saul the sonne of Kish: and they were among the valiant and helpers of the battel.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.

Berean Standard Bible
Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the warriors who helped him in battle;

Complete Jewish Bible
Following are the men who joined David at Ziklag while he was still being kept away from Sha'ul the son of Kish; they were among the warriors who helped him fight his battles.

Darby Translation
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he kept still close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in the conflict;

Easy-to-Read Version
This is a list of the men who came to David while he was at Ziklag. This was when David was hiding from Saul son of Kish. These men helped David in battle.

George Lamsa Translation
NOW these are all the mighty men of David, who stood by him in the battle, and they came with David to the city of Zinklag, when he fled from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who stood before David. If David had wished, they would have slain Saul the son of Kish, for they were mighty men of war, but David would not permit them to slay Saul.

Good News Translation
David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced, reliable soldiers,

Lexham English Bible
Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag while he was still shut up because of Saul, the son of Kish. And they were the mighty warriors helping with the war.

Literal Translation
And these were those coming to David to Ziklag, while banned from the face of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty ones, helping the battle;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
These also came to Dauid vnto Siclag whan he was yet kepte a syde because of Saul the sonne of Cis: And they were like wyse amouge the worthies yt helped in the battayll,

American Standard Version
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
These are they that came to Dauid to Ziklag while he yet kept himselfe close because of Saul the sonne of Cis: and they were very strong helpers in battaile.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he was yet shut up because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

King James Version (1611)
Now these are they that came to Dauid to Ziklag while hee yet kept himselfe close, because of Saul the sonne of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the warre.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And these are they that came to Sikelag, when he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kis; and these were among the mighty, aiding him in war,

English Revised Version
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also these camen to Dauid in Sichelech, whanne he fledde yit fro Saul, the sone of Cys; whiche weren strongeste men and noble fiyterys,

Update Bible Version
Now these are those that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now these [are] they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they [were] among the mighty men, helpers of the war.

New King James Version
1 Samuel 22:1,2">[xr] Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war,

New Living Translation
The following men joined David at Ziklag while he was hiding from Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who fought beside David in battle.

New Life Bible
These are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while David was still hidden because of Saul the son of Kish. They were among the strong men who helped him in war.

New Revised Standard
The following are those who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul son of Kish; they were among the mighty warriors who helped him in war.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now these, are they who came unto David, to Ziklag, he yet being shut up, because of Saul son of Kish, - and, they, were among the heroes, helpers in the war;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now these are they that came to David to Siceleg, while he yet fled from Saul the son of Cis, and they were most valiant and excellent warriors,

Revised Standard Version
Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.

Young's Literal Translation
And these [are] those coming in unto David to Ziklag, while shut up because of Saul son of Kish, and they [are] among the mighty ones, helping the battle,

THE MESSAGE
These are the men who joined David in Ziklag; it was during the time he was banished by Saul the son of Kish; they were among the Mighty Men, good fighters. They were armed with bows and could sling stones and shoot arrows either right- or left-handed. They hailed from Saul's tribe, Benjamin.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.

Contextual Overview

¹ Some time earlier, David had gone to live in the town of Ziklag to escape from King Saul. While David was there, several brave warriors joined him to help fight his battles. ²

Warriors from the Benjamin tribe

Several of these warriors were from King Saul's own tribe of Benjamin. They were experts at using a bow and arrows, and they could shoot an arrow or sling a stone with either hand. ³Their leaders were Ahiezer and Joash, the sons of Shemaah from Gibeah. Here is a list of those men from Benjamin: Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah and Jehu from Anathoth; Ishmaiah from Gibeon, who was the leader of the Thirty Warriors; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah; Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam from the Korah clan; Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham from Gedor. ⁸

Warriors from the Gad tribe

Men from the tribe of Gad also joined David at his fortress in the desert and served as his warriors. They were also brave soldiers—fierce as lions and quick as gazelles. They were always prepared to fight with shields and spears. ⁹There were eleven of them, ranked in the following order: Ezer the leader, then Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Machbannai. ¹⁴ All these men were army officers; some were high-ranking officers over a thousand troops, and others were officers over a hundred troops. ¹⁵ Earlier, they had crossed the Jordan River when it flooded, and they chased out the people who lived in the valleys on each side of the river. ¹⁶

Warriors from the Benjamin and Judah tribes

One time a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went to the fortress where David was staying. ¹⁷ David met them outside and said, "If you are coming as friends to fight on my side, then stay and join us. But if you try to turn me over to my enemies, the God our ancestors worshiped will punish you, because I have done nothing wrong." ¹⁸ Amasai, who later became the leader of the Thirty Warriors, was one of these men who went to David. God's Spirit took control of him, and he said, "We will join you, David son of Jesse! You and your followers will always be successful, because God fights on your side." So David agreed to let them stay, and he even put them in charge of his soldiers who raided enemy villages.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

these are: 1 Samuel 27:2, 1 Samuel 27:6, 2 Samuel 1:1, 2 Samuel 4:10

while he yet: etc. Heb. being yet shut up, Sometimes, in the East, when a successful prince endeavoured to extirpate the preceding royal family, some of them escaped the slaughter, and secured themselves in an impregnable fortress, or in a place of great secrecy; while others have been known to seek an asylum in a foreign county, from when they have occasioned, from time to time, great anxiety and great difficulties to the usurper of the crown. The expression shut up, so often applied to the extermination of eastern royal families - Deuteronomy 32:32. 1 Kings 14:10, 1 Kings 21:21. 2 Kings 9:8, 2 Kings 14:26, strictly speaking, refers to the two first of these cases; but the term may be used in a more extensive sense, for those who, by retiring into deserts, or foreign countries, preserve themselves from being slain by the men who usurp the dominions of their ancestors. Thus the term is here applied to David, though he did not shut himself up, strictly speaking, in Ziklag. It is described as a town in the country, and was probably an unwalled town; and it is certain that he did not confine himself to it, but, on the contrary, was continually making excursions from thence.

Saul: 1 Chronicles 8:33, 1 Chronicles 9:39

the mighty: 1 Chronicles 11:10, 1 Chronicles 11:19, 1 Chronicles 11:24, 1 Chronicles 11:25

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:8 - thy hand Joshua 15:31 - Ziklag 1 Samuel 30:26 - to his friends 2 Samuel 2:3 - his men 1 Chronicles 4:30 - Ziklag

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.

Genesis 12:3
I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.

Genesis 12:6
Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time,

Genesis 12:10
The crops failed, and there was no food anywhere in the land. So Abram and his wife Sarai went to live in Egypt for a while. But just before they got there, he said, "Sarai, you are really beautiful!

Genesis 15:7
The Lord said to Abram, "I brought you here from Ur in Chaldea, and I gave you this land."

Nehemiah 9:7
You are the Lord our God, the one who chose Abram— you brought him from Ur in Babylonia and named him Abraham.

Isaiah 41:9
From far across the earth I brought you here and said, "You are my chosen servant. I haven't forgotten you."

Isaiah 51:2
God chose Abraham and Sarah to be your ancestors. The Lord blessed Abraham, and from that one man came many descendants.

Ezekiel 33:24
Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in the ruined cities of Israel are saying, "Abraham was just one man, and the Lord gave him this whole land of Israel. There are many of us, and so this land must be ours."

2 Corinthians 6:17
The Lord also says, "Leave them and stay away! Don't touch anything that isn't clean. Then I will welcome you

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag,.... Given him by Achish to live in, when he fled from Saul, 1 Samuel 27:6

while he yet kept himself close, because of Saul the son of Kish; when he was an exile from his own country, and obliged to live retired in a foreign one, because of Saul's persecution of him, and seeking to take away his life:

and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war; not against Saul, with whom David had none, but with the Amalekites, and others, 1 Samuel 27:8.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This chapter is composed wholly of matter that is new to us, no corresponding accounts occurring in Samuel. It comprises four lists:

(1) One of men, chiefly Benjamites, who joined David at Ziklag 1 Chronicles 12:1-7;

(2) A second of Gadites who united themselves to him when he was in a stronghold near the desert 1 Chronicles 12:8-15;

(3) A third of Manassites who came to him when he was dismissed by the Philistines upon suspicion 1 Chronicles 12:19-22; and

(4) A fourth of the numbers from the different tribes who attended and made him king at Hebron 1 Chronicles 12:23-40.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XII

The different persons, captains, c., who joined themselves

to David at Ziklag, 1-22.

Those who joined him at Hebron, out of the different tribes

Judah, Simeon, Levi, the house of Aaron, Benjamin, Ephraim,

Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Dan, Asher, Reuben,

&c., to the amount of a hundred and twenty thousand, 23-37.

Their unanimity, and the provisions they brought for his

support, 38-40.

NOTES ON CHAP. XII

Verse 1 Chronicles 12:1. Came to David to Ziklag — Achish, king of Gath, had given Ziklag to David, as a safe retreat from the wrath of Saul.