David's Victories

8 ^(A)After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took ^(B)Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

^2 (C)And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites ^(D)became servants to David and ^(E)brought tribute.

³ David also defeated ^(F)Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^(G)Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. ^4 (H)And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David ^(I)hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. ^5 (J)And when the ^(K)Syrians of Damascus came to help ^(L)Hadadezer king of ^(M)Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. ⁶ Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians ^(N)became servants to David and brought tribute. ^(O)And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took ^(P)the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.

⁹ When Toi king of ^(Q)Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. ^11 (R)These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, ¹² from Edom, ^(S)Moab, ^(T)the Ammonites, ^(U)the Philistines, ^(V)Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^(W)Zobah.

¹³ And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in ^(X)the Valley of Salt. ¹⁴ Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, ^(Y)and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David's Officials

¹⁵ So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. ^16 (Z)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and ^(AA)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, ¹⁷ and ^(AB)Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and ^(AC)Seraiah was secretary, ¹⁸ and ^(AD)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over^[a] the ^(AE)Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were priests.

David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(AF)show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(AG)Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show ^(AH)the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of ^(AI)Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of ^(AJ)Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶ And ^(AK)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” ⁷ And David said to him, “Do not fear, ^(AL)for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and ^(AM)you shall eat at my table always.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for ^(AN)a dead dog such as I?”

⁹ Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. ¹⁰ And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson ^(AO)shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had ^(AP)fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ^(AQ)ate at David's^[b] table, like one of the king's sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, ^(AR)whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for ^(AS)he ate always at the king's table. Now ^(AT)he was lame in both his feet.

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.

² And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

³ David also defeated ^(B)Hadadezer king of ^(C)Zobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument^[a] at the river Euphrates. ⁴ 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. ⁵ And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^(E)of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. ⁶ 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. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

David's Administration

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. ¹⁵ And ^(O)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; ^16 (P)and Zadok the son of Ahitub and ^(Q)Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and ^(R)Shavsha was secretary; ¹⁷ and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were the ^(S)chief officials in the service of the king.

Paul's Ministry to the Thessalonians

2 For you yourselves know, brothers,^[a] that our ^(A)coming to you ^(B)was not in vain. ² But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated ^(C)at Philippi, as you know, ^(D)we had boldness in our God ^(E)to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much ^(F)conflict. ³ For ^(G)our appeal does not spring from ^(H)error or ^(I)impurity or ^(J)any attempt to deceive, ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God ^(K)to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not ^(L)to please man, but to please God ^(M)who tests our hearts. ^5 (N)For we never came with words of flattery,^[b] as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—^(O)God is witness. ^6 (P)Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, ^(Q)though we could have made ^(R)demands as ^(S)apostles of Christ. ⁷ But we were ^(T)gentle^[c] among you, ^(U)like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. ⁸ So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God ^(V)but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

⁹ For you remember, brothers, ^(W)our labor and toil: we ^(X)worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and ^(Y)God also, ^(Z)how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. ¹¹ For you know how, ^(AA)like a father with his children, ¹² we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and ^(AB)charged ^(AC)you to walk in a manner worthy of God, ^(AD)who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³ And ^(AE)we also thank God constantly^[d] for this, that when you received ^(AF)the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it ^(AG)not as the word of men^[e] but as what it really is, the word of God, ^(AH)which is at work in you believers. ¹⁴ For you, brothers, ^(AI)became imitators of ^(AJ)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For ^(AK)you suffered the same things from your own countrymen ^(AL)as they did from the Jews,^{[f] 15 (AM)}who killed both the Lord Jesus and ^(AN)the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and ^(AO)oppose all mankind ^16 (AP)by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always ^(AQ)to fill up the measure of their sins. But ^(AR)wrath has come upon them at last!^[g]

Paul's Longing to See Them Again

¹⁷ But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, ^(AS)in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire ^(AT)to see you face to face, ¹⁸ because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan ^(AU)hindered us. ¹⁹ For what is our hope or ^(AV)joy or crown of boasting ^(AW)before our Lord Jesus at his ^(AX)coming? Is it not you? ²⁰ For you are our glory and joy.