1And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.8.1 Metheg-ammah: or, the bridle of Ammah 2And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3¶ David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.8.3 Hadadezer: or, Hadarezer 4And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.8.4 from…: or, of his chariots 5And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 7And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
9¶ When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, 10Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:8.10 Joram: also called, Hadoram8.10 salute…: Heb. ask him of peace8.10 had wars…: Heb. was a man of wars with8.10 brought…: Heb. in his hand were 11Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; 12Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.8.13 smiting: Heb. his smiting
14¶ And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
15And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. 16And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;8.16 recorder: or, remembrancer, or, writer of chronicles 17And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;8.17 scribe: or, secretary 18And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.8.18 chief rulers: or, princes
David’s victories
1In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.
2David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
3Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at8:3 Or his control along the River Euphrates. 4David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers8:4 Septuagint (see also Dead Sea Scrolls and 1 Chron. 18:4); Masoretic Text captured seventeen hundred of his charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
5When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
7David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8From Tebah8:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 18:8); Hebrew Betah. and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.
9When Tou8:9 Hebrew Toi, a variant of Tou; also in verse 10 king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10he sent his son Joram8:10 A variant of Hadoram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.
11King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12Edom8:12 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites8:13 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:12); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram (that is, Arameans) in the Valley of Salt.
14He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
David’s officials
15David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 16Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.8:18 Or were chief officials (see Septuagint and Targum; see also 1 Chron. 18:17)
