II Samuel 8

¹And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took the bridle of the mother city out of the hand of the Philistines.

²And he smote Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

³David smote also Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion at the River.

⁴And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David smote 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 tribute. And Jehovah gave victory to 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.

⁹And 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:

¹¹these also did king David dedicate unto Jehovah, with the silver and gold that he dedicated of all the 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 the Syrians in the Valley of Salt, even eighteen thousand men.

¹⁴And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.

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

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

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

¹⁸and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.

II Samuel 8

¹Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from the hand of the Philistines.

²David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

³David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.

⁴David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.

⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men.

⁶Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to David and brought him tribute. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.

⁷And David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.

⁹When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,

¹⁰he sent his son Joram to greet King David and bless him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer, who had been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze,

¹¹and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued—

¹²from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites and Philistines and Amalekites, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.

¹⁵Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

¹⁶Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

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

¹⁸Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.