David Defeats His Enemies

18 (A)After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

David also defeated (B)Hadadezer king of (C)Zobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument[a] at the river Euphrates. And David took from him 1,000 chariots, (D)7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king (E)of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. Then David put garrisons[b] in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David[c] wherever he went. And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. And from (F)Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. (G)With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

When (H)Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king (I)of Zobah, 10 he sent his son (J)Hadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against (K)Hadadezer and defeated him; for (L)Hadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from (M)Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 And (N)Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 18:3 Hebrew hand
  2. 1 Chronicles 18:6 Septuagint, Vulgate, 2 Samuel 8:6 (compare Syriac); Hebrew lacks garrisons
  3. 1 Chronicles 18:6 Hebrew the Lord saved David; also verse 13

David’s Military Victories(A)

18 After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines, and then took possession of Gath and its towns from Philistine control. He also conquered Moab, placing them in servitude and making them pay tribute.

David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, which is near Hamath,[a] while he was going about establishing his hegemony[b] as far as the Euphrates[c] River. David confiscated 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him, and hamstrung all of the chariot horses except for a reserve force of 100 chariots. When Arameans came from Damascus to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. David later erected garrisons[d] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans were placed under servitude to David, to whom they paid tribute. David also confiscated the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s officials and took them to Jerusalem. David also confiscated a vast quantity of bronze from Tibhath[e] and Cun, cities under Hadadezer’s control. Later on, Solomon crafted the bronze sea, the pillars, and the bronze vessels for the Temple.[f]

When King Tou of Hamath learned that David had conquered King Hadadezer of Zobah’s entire army, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David to meet and congratulate him, because he had fought against and defeated Hadadezer. Since Hadadezer had often been to war against Tou, he sent all sorts of gold, silver, and bronze goods 11 to King David, which David[g] also dedicated to the Lord, along with silver and gold that he confiscated from all the surrounding[h] nations, including Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 Zeruiah’s son Abishai killed 18,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley. 13 He erected garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subservient to David, while the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 18:3 A city in Syria on the Orontes River
  2. 1 Chronicles 18:3 Lit. hand
  3. 1 Chronicles 18:3 Or Perath; a river valley near Parah (cf. Jer 13:4-7)
  4. 1 Chronicles 18:6 So LXX. The Heb. lacks garrisons
  5. 1 Chronicles 18:8 So MT; cf. 2Sam 8:8
  6. 1 Chronicles 18:8 The Heb. lacks for the Temple
  7. 1 Chronicles 18:11 Lit. he
  8. 1 Chronicles 18:11 The Heb. lacks surrounding