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Rh in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon. And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the terebinth in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the, because of the word of the , which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of a ghost, to inquire thereby, and inquired not of the ; therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying: 'Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was thou that didst lead out and bring in Israel; and the thy God said unto thee: Thou shalt feed My people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over My people Israel.' So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the ; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the  by the hand of Samuel.

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem—the same is Jebus—and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David: 'Thou shalt not come in hither.' Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. And David said: 'Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.' And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief. And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David. And he built the city round about, from Millo even round about; and Joab repaired the rest of the city. And David waxed greater and greater; for the of hosts was with him.

Now these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who held strongly with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the captains; he lifted up his spear against three hundred and slew them at one time.

And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. But they stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the saved them by a great victory.

And three of the thirty chiefs went down to the rock to David, unto the cave of Adullam; and the host 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 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 David would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the ,