2 Samuel 8
King James Version
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.
2 Samuel 8
Easy-to-Read Version
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
- 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 Samuel 8:3 David went … for himself Or “David went to take control of the area near the Euphrates River.”
- 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.”
- 2 Samuel 8:4 He crippled … horses Or “He destroyed all but 100 chariots.”
- 2 Samuel 8:7 shields Or “bow cases.”
- 2 Samuel 8:8 Tebah This is found in some ancient Greek copies. The standard Hebrew text has “Betah.” See 1 Chron. 18:8.
- 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.”
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 8:18 priests Or “important leaders.”
2 Samuel 8
English Standard Version
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.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 8:18 Compare 20:23, 1 Chronicles 18:17, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks was over
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
