17. David went to meet them. He told them, “If you’ve come to help me as friends would, then you may join me. But if you’ve come to betray me to my enemies, even though I haven’t committed a crime, may the God of our ancestors see this and judge you.”
18. Then the Spirit gave Amasai, the leader of the thirty, the strength ⌊to say⌋,“We are yours, David.We are with you, son of Jesse.Success, success to you!Success to those who help you,because your God is helping you.”So David welcomed them and made them officers over his troops.
19. Some men from Manasseh had deserted ⌊Saul’s army⌋ to join David when he went with the Philistines to attack Saul. (However, David didn’t help the Philistines because their rulers sent him away after considering the matter. They said, “It will cost us our heads when he deserts and joins his master Saul.”)
20. When David went to Ziklag, these men from Manasseh deserted to join him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each one was an officer over 1,000 men in Manasseh.
21. They helped David fight raiding parties because they were all warriors, commanders in the army.
22. From day to day, men came to help David until he had an army as large as God’s army.