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David wins more fights [ a ]

8 Some time later, David attacked the Philistines, and he won the fight against them. He now had power over them and over their towns.

2 David also won a battle against the Moabites. He made the Moabite prisoners lie down on the ground. Then he used a piece of rope to measure them into groups. When he had measured two groups, he would tell his men to kill all those prisoners. When he measured the next group, he would let those prisoners stay alive. So the Moabites were now under David's authority and they began to pay taxes to him.

3 David also won a battle against Rehob's son, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. This happened when Hadadezer took his army to the Euphrates river to show that he had authority there. 4 David took from Hadadezer 1,700 men who drove chariots. He also caught 20,000 of Hadadezer's other soldiers. David kept 100 of the horses that pulled chariots. But he cut the legs of the other horses so that they could not run.

5 The Syrians from Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer of Zobah. But David killed 22,000 soldiers of the Syrian army. 6 David put groups of his soldiers in Damascus to be guards over the Syrian people. So the Syrians were now under David's authority and they paid taxes to him. The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.

7 David took the gold shields that Hadadezer's officers had carried. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. 8 David also took a lot of bronze things from Tebah and Berothai, towns that had belonged to Hadadezer.

9 Toi, the king of Hamath, heard news that David had won the battle against the whole army of Hadadezer. 10 There had been a war between King Hadadezer and King Toi. So now Toi sent his son, Joram to say ‘hello’ to David. He wanted to thank David because he had won the battle against King Hadadezer. Joram brought gifts to David that were made of gold, silver and bronze.

11 David took these gifts and he offered them to the Lord . He also offered to the Lord all the silver and gold things that he had taken from other nations. Those were all the nations that David had won against in battle. 12 They included Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and the Amalekites. He also offered to the Lord things that he had taken from Rehob's son, King Hadadezer of Zobah.

13 After that, David's army won a battle in the Valley of Salt against 18,000 Edomites. David became very famous because of that. 14 He put groups of his soldiers in every part of Edom's land, so that David had authority over all the Edomites. The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.

David's officers

15 David ruled over all Israel. He did everything that was right and fair for all his people. 16 Zeruiah's son, Joab, was the leader of Israel's army. Ahilud's son, Jehoshaphat, wrote down the important things that happened. 17 Ahitub's son Zadok and Abiathar's son Ahimelech were priests. Seraiah was David's secretary. 18 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was the leader of David's personal guards. [ b ] David's sons served as priests. [ c ]

Footnotes

  1. 8:1 This story continues from the end of chapter 5.
  2. 8:18 David's personal guards (bodyguards) were men who belonged to the Kerethite and Pelethite people.
  3. 8:18 David belonged to Judah's tribe, so his family could not be priests. Only Aaron's descendants could be priests. They belonged to Levi's tribe. Perhaps ‘priest’ here means that they helped David in a special way.

David Wins Many Wars

8 Later David defeated the Philistines and took control of a large area of land around Gath. [ a ] 2 He also defeated the Moabites. He forced them to lie on the ground in a long row. Using a rope to measure, those within two lengths of the rope were killed and those within every third length were allowed to live. So the Moabites became servants of David and paid tribute to him.

3 David went to an area near the Euphrates to set up a monument for himself. [ b ] At that time he defeated the king of Zobah, Hadadezer son of Rehob. 4 David took 1000 chariots, 7000 horse soldiers, [ c ] and 20,000 foot soldiers from Hadadezer. He crippled all but 100 of the chariot horses. [ d ]

5 Arameans from Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David defeated those 22,000 Arameans. 6 Then David put his soldiers in Damascus, Aram. The Arameans became David’s servants and brought tribute. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

7 David took the gold shields [ e ] that had belonged to Hadadezer’s servants and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 David also took many things made of bronze from Tebah [ f ] and Berothai. (Tebah and Berothai were cities that had belonged to Hadadezer.)

9 King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s whole army. 10 Hadadezer had fought against Toi in the past, so Toi sent his son Joram to King David. Joram greeted him and blessed him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. Joram brought gifts of silver, gold, and bronze. 11 David took these things and dedicated them to the Lord , as he had done with all the other things he had taken from the nations he had defeated: 12 Aram, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. He had also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 David had defeated 18,000 Edomites [ g ] in Salt Valley. He was famous when he came home. 14 He put teams of soldiers throughout Edom, and the whole nation became his servants. The Lord gave victory to him wherever he went.

David’s Rule

15 David ruled over all Israel, and he made good and fair decisions for all of his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was the captain over the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the historian. 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests. Seraiah was secretary. 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Kerethites and Pelethites, [ h ] and David’s sons were priests. [ i ]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:1 area of land around Gath Or “villages controlled by the mother city” or “Metheg-Ammah.” See 1 Chron. 18:1.
  2. 2 Samuel 8:3 David went … for himself Or “David went to take control of the area near the Euphrates River.”
  3. 2 Samuel 8:4 David … soldiers This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran. The standard Hebrew text has “1700 horse soldiers.”
  4. 2 Samuel 8:4 He crippled … horses Or “He destroyed all but 100 chariots.”
  5. 2 Samuel 8:7 shields Or “bow cases.”
  6. 2 Samuel 8:8 Tebah This is found in some ancient Greek copies. The standard Hebrew text has “Betah.” See 1 Chron. 18:8.
  7. 2 Samuel 8:13 Edomites This is found in the ancient Greek and Syriac versions and a few Hebrew copies. The standard Hebrew text has “Arameans.”
  8. 2 Samuel 8:18 Kerethites and Pelethites These were David’s special bodyguards. An ancient Aramaic version has “the archers and stone throwers.” This would mean these men were specially trained in using bows and arrows and slings.
  9. 2 Samuel 8:18 priests Or “important leaders.”

8 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 And 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.

4 And 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.

5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.

6 Then 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.

7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

8 And 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,

10 Then 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:

11 Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord , with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;

12 Of 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.

13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.

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.

15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.

16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;

18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

David’s Triumphs

8 ( A ) Now it happened afterward that David [ a ] defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took [ b ] control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

2 ( B ) And He [ c ] defeated ( C ) Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And ( D ) the Moabites became servants to David, ( E ) bringing tribute.

3 Then David [ d ] defeated ( F ) Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as ( G ) he went to restore his [ e ] power at the Euphrates River. 4 And David captured from him [ f ] 1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David ( H ) hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots. 5 When ( I ) the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David [ g ] killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans. 6 Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and ( J ) the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And ( K ) the Lord helped David wherever he went. 7 David took the shields of gold which were [ h ] carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from [ i ] Betah and ( L ) Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

9 Now when Toi king of ( M ) Hamath heard that David had [ j ] defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son [ k ] Joram to King David to [ l ] greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and [ m ] defeated him; for Hadadezer [ n ] had been at war with Toi. And [ o ] Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze. 11 King David also ( N ) consecrated these gifts to the Lord , with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued: 12 from [ p ] Aram, ( O ) Moab, ( P ) the sons of Ammon, ( Q ) the Philistines, ( R ) Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 So ( S ) David made a name for himself when he returned from [ q ] killing eighteen thousand [ r ] Arameans in ( T ) the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and ( U ) all the Edomites became servants to David. And ( V ) the Lord helped David wherever he went.

15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David [ s ] administered justice and righteousness for all his people. 16 ( W ) Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander over the army, and ( X ) Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was ( Y ) secretary. 17 ( Z ) Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were ( AA ) priests, and Seraiah was ( AB ) scribe. 18 ( AC ) Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [ t ] was over the ( AD ) Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [ u ] ( AE ) chief ministers.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit struck
  2. 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit the bridle of the mother city
  3. 2 Samuel 8:2 Lit struck
  4. 2 Samuel 8:3 Lit struck
  5. 2 Samuel 8:3 Lit hand
  6. 2 Samuel 8:4 Here LXX reads as 1 Chr 18:4; partial DSS text appears to also
  7. 2 Samuel 8:5 Lit struck
  8. 2 Samuel 8:7 Lit on
  9. 2 Samuel 8:8 In 1 Chr 18:8, Tibhath
  10. 2 Samuel 8:9 Lit struck
  11. 2 Samuel 8:10 In 1 Chr 18:10, Hadoram
  12. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit ask him of his welfare
  13. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit struck
  14. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit was a man of wars
  15. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit there were in his hand
  16. 2 Samuel 8:12 Some mss Edom
  17. 2 Samuel 8:13 Lit striking
  18. 2 Samuel 8:13 Some mss Edom
  19. 2 Samuel 8:15 Lit was doing
  20. 2 Samuel 8:18 See 1 Chr 18:17; MT and the Cherethites
  21. 2 Samuel 8:18 Lit priests

David’s Victories ( A )

8 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines ( B ) and subdued ( C ) them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

2 David also defeated the Moabites. ( D ) 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. ( E )

3 Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer ( F ) son of Rehob, king of Zobah, ( G ) when he went to restore his monument at [ a ] the Euphrates ( H ) River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers [ b ] and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung ( I ) all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

5 When the Arameans of Damascus ( J ) came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons ( K ) in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject ( L ) to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. ( M )

7 David took the gold shields ( N ) that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah [ c ] and Berothai, ( O ) towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.

9 When Tou [ d ] king of Hamath ( P ) heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, ( Q ) 10 he sent his son Joram [ e ] 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.

11 King David dedicated ( R ) these articles to the Lord , as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12 Edom [ f ] ( S ) and Moab, ( T ) the Ammonites ( U ) and the Philistines, ( V ) and Amalek. ( W ) He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 And David became famous ( X ) after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites [ g ] in the Valley of Salt. ( Y )

14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites ( Z ) became subject to David. ( AA ) The Lord gave David victory ( AB ) wherever he went. ( AC )

David’s Officials ( AD )

15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right ( AE ) for all his people. 16 Joab ( AF ) son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat ( AG ) son of Ahilud was recorder; ( AH ) 17 Zadok ( AI ) son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar ( AJ ) were priests; Seraiah was secretary; ( AK ) 18 Benaiah ( AL ) son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites ( AM ) and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests. [ h ]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:3 Or his control along
  2. 2 Samuel 8:4 Septuagint (see also Dead Sea Scrolls and 1 Chron. 18:4); Masoretic Text captured seventeen hundred of his charioteers
  3. 2 Samuel 8:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 18:8); Hebrew Betah .
  4. 2 Samuel 8:9 Hebrew Toi , a variant of Tou ; also in verse 10
  5. 2 Samuel 8:10 A variant of Hadoram
  6. 2 Samuel 8:12 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram
  7. 2 Samuel 8:13 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:12); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram (that is, Arameans)
  8. 2 Samuel 8:18 Or were chief officials (see Septuagint and Targum; see also 1 Chron. 18:17)