2 Samuel 8:1-15
New King James Version
David’s Further Conquests(A)
8 After this it came to pass that David [a]attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took [b]Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
2 Then (B)he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s (C)servants, and (D)brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of (E)Zobah, as he went to recover (F)his territory at the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, [c]seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David (G)hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.
5 (H)When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So (I)the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took (J)the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from [d]Betah and from (K)Berothai,[e] cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.
9 When [f]Toi king of (L)Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent [g]Joram his son to King David, to [h]greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 King David also (M)dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 12 from [i]Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the (N)Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David made himself a (O)name when he returned from killing (P)eighteen thousand [j]Syrians in (Q)the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and (R)all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
David’s Administration(S)
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit. struck
- 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit. The Bridle of the Mother City
- 2 Samuel 8:4 seven thousand, 1 Chr. 18:4
- 2 Samuel 8:8 Tibhath, 1 Chr. 18:8
- 2 Samuel 8:8 Chun, 1 Chr. 18:8
- 2 Samuel 8:9 Tou, 1 Chr. 18:9
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Hadoram, 1 Chr. 18:10
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit. ask him of his welfare
- 2 Samuel 8:12 LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edom
- 2 Samuel 8:13 LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edomites and 1 Chr. 18:12
2 Samuel 8:1-15
Lexham English Bible
David’s Military Victories Continue
8 It happened afterwards that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the hands of the Philistines. 2 When he defeated Moab, he measured them with the cord, making them lie on the ground. He measured two cords to kill and the third cord[a] to let live.[b] So Moab became servants of David, bringing tribute. 3 Then David struck down Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument[c] at the Euphrates River. 4 David captured from him one thousand and seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers.[d] David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but from them[e] he spared a hundred chariot horses. 5 When Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of Aram. 6 David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.
7 David took the small round gold shields which had belonged[f] to the servants of Hadadezer, and he brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Betah and from Berothai, the towns of Hadadezer, King David took very many bronze items.
9 When Toi, the king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet him[g] and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi.[h] He brought with him[i] objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze. 11 King David dedicated them also to Yahweh along with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all of the nations which he had subdued; 12 from Aram and from Moab and from the Ammonites[j] and from the Philistines and from Amalek and from the plunder of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah. 13 So David made a name for himself when he returned from defeating Aram in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand. 14 He put garrisons in Edom; all over Edom he put garrisons, and all of Edom became servants of David. Yahweh protected David wherever he went.
15 David reigned over all of Israel, and he[k] was administering justice and righteousness for all his people.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 8:2 Literally “the filling of a cord”
- 2 Samuel 8:2 This method of selection must have been well known to the reader, but the exact procedure has been obscured over the millennia. It may be that one out of three lived through the process, only to become subservient
- 2 Samuel 8:3 Hebrew “hand”
- 2 Samuel 8:4 Literally “men of infantry”
- 2 Samuel 8:4 Literally “from him”
- 2 Samuel 8:7 Literally “been”
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Literally “to ask peace for himself”
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Literally “for Hadadezer was a man of wars with Toi”
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Literally “In his hand were”
- 2 Samuel 8:12 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
- 2 Samuel 8:15 Hebrew “David”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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