9. David became a great and strong ruler, because the Lord All-Powerful was on his side.
10. The Lord had promised that David would become king, and so everyone in Israel gave David their support. Certain warriors also helped keep his kingdom strong.
11. The first of these warriors was Jashobeam the son of Hachmoni, the leader of the Three Warriors. In one battle he killed three hundred men with his spear.
12. Another one of the Three Warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite.
13. During a battle against the Philistines at Pas-Dammim, all the Israelite soldiers ran away,
14. except Eleazar, who stayed with David. They took their positions in a nearby barley field and defeated the Philistines! The Lord gave Israel a great victory that day.
15. One time the Three Warriors went to meet David among the rocks at Adullam Cave. The Philistine army had set up camp in Rephaim Valley
16. and had taken over Bethlehem. David was in a fortress,
17. and he said, “I'm very thirsty. I wish I had a drink of water from the well by the gate to Bethlehem.”
18. The Three Warriors sneaked through the Philistine camp and got some water from the well near Bethlehem's gate. They took it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured out the water as a sacrifice to the Lord
19. and said, “Drinking this water would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives to get it for me.”The Three Warriors did these brave deeds.
20. Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of the Thirty Warriors, and in one battle he killed three hundred men with his spear. He was just as famous as the Three Warriors
21. and was more famous than the rest of the Thirty Warriors. He was their commander, but he never became one of the Three Warriors.
22. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a brave man from Kabzeel who did some amazing things. One time he killed two of Moab's best fighters, and one snowy day he went into a pit and killed a lion.
23. Another time he killed an Egyptian who was over two metres tall and was armed with a spear. Benaiah only had a club, so he grabbed the spear from the Egyptian and killed him with it.