Grieving over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.

For the music director; according to [a]Shushan Eduth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, to teach; [c]when he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

60 God, (A)You have rejected us. You have [d](B)broken us;
You have been (C)angry; (D)restore us!
You have made the [e](E)land quake, You have split it open;
(F)Heal its cracks, for it sways.
You have [f](G)made Your people experience hardship;
You have given us [g]wine to (H)drink that makes us stagger.
You have given a (I)banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
(J)That Your (K)beloved may be rescued,
(L)Save us with Your right hand, and answer [h]us!

God has spoken in His [i](M)holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up (N)Shechem, and measure out the Valley of (O)Succoth.
(P)Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
(Q)Ephraim also is the [j]helmet of My head;
Judah is My (R)scepter.
(S)Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over (T)Edom;
Shout loud, (U)Philistia, because of Me!”

Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [k]will lead me to Edom?
10 Have You Yourself not (V)rejected us, God?
And (W)will You not go out with our armies, God?
11 Oh give us help against the enemy,
For (X)rescue [l]by man is worthless.
12 [m]Through God we will (Y)do valiantly,
And it is He who will (Z)trample down our enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 60 Title Lit The lily of testimony
  2. Psalm 60 Title Possibly, Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
  3. Psalm 60 Title 2 Sam 8:3, 13; 1 Chr 18:3, 12
  4. Psalm 60:1 Or broken out upon us
  5. Psalm 60:2 Or earth
  6. Psalm 60:3 Lit caused Your people to see
  7. Psalm 60:3 Lit wine of staggering
  8. Psalm 60:5 Some authorities me
  9. Psalm 60:6 Or sanctuary
  10. Psalm 60:7 Lit protection
  11. Psalm 60:9 Or has led
  12. Psalm 60:11 Lit of
  13. Psalm 60:12 Or In; or With

Psalm 60

Prayer in Difficult Times

For the choir director: according to “The Lily of Testimony.”(A) A Miktam of David for teaching. When he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in Salt Valley, killing twelve thousand.(B)

God, you have rejected us;
you have broken us down;
you have been angry. Restore us![a](C)
You have shaken the land and split it open.
Heal its fissures, for it shudders.(D)
You have made your people suffer hardship;
you have given us wine to drink
that made us stagger.(E)
You have given a signal flag to those who fear you,
so that they can flee before the archers.[b](F)Selah
Save with your right hand, and answer me,
so that those you love may be rescued.(G)

God has spoken in his sanctuary:[c]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(H)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(I)
Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(J)
Judah is my scepter.(K)
Moab is my washbasin.(L)
I throw my sandal on Edom;(M)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(N)

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?(O)
10 God, haven’t you rejected us?
God, you do not march out with our armies.(P)
11 Give us aid against the foe,
for human help is worthless.(Q)
12 With God we will perform valiantly;(R)
he will trample our foes.(S)

Footnotes

  1. 60:1 Or Turn back to us
  2. 60:4 Or can rally before the archers, or can rally because of the truth
  3. 60:6 Or has promised by his holy nature

David’s Triumphs

(A)Now it happened afterward that David [a]defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took [b]control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

(B)And He [c]defeated (C)Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And (D)the Moabites became servants to David, (E)bringing tribute.

Then David [d]defeated (F)Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as (G)he went to restore his [e]power at the Euphrates River. And David captured from him [f]1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David (H)hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots. When (I)the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David [g]killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans. Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and (J)the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And (K)the Lord helped David wherever he went. David took the shields of gold which were [h]carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. And from [i]Betah and (L)Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

Now when Toi king of (M)Hamath heard that David had [j]defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son [k]Joram to King David to [l]greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and [m]defeated him; for Hadadezer [n]had been at war with Toi. And [o]Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze. 11 King David also (N)consecrated these gifts to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued: 12 from [p]Aram, (O)Moab, (P)the sons of Ammon, (Q)the Philistines, (R)Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 So (S)David made a name for himself when he returned from [q]killing eighteen thousand [r]Arameans in (T)the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and (U)all the Edomites became servants to David. And (V)the Lord helped David wherever he went.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit struck
  2. 2 Samuel 8:1 Lit the bridle of the mother city
  3. 2 Samuel 8:2 Lit struck
  4. 2 Samuel 8:3 Lit struck
  5. 2 Samuel 8:3 Lit hand
  6. 2 Samuel 8:4 Here LXX reads as 1 Chr 18:4; partial DSS text appears to also
  7. 2 Samuel 8:5 Lit struck
  8. 2 Samuel 8:7 Lit on
  9. 2 Samuel 8:8 In 1 Chr 18:8, Tibhath
  10. 2 Samuel 8:9 Lit struck
  11. 2 Samuel 8:10 In 1 Chr 18:10, Hadoram
  12. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit ask him of his welfare
  13. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit struck
  14. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit was a man of wars
  15. 2 Samuel 8:10 Lit there were in his hand
  16. 2 Samuel 8:12 Some mss Edom
  17. 2 Samuel 8:13 Lit striking
  18. 2 Samuel 8:13 Some mss Edom

David’s Victories

After this, David defeated the Philistines,(A) subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah[a] from Philistine control.[b](B) He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.(C)

David also defeated Hadadezer(D) son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control at the Euphrates River. David captured seventeen hundred horsemen[c] and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses(E) and kept a hundred chariots.[d]

When the Arameans of Damascus(F) came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men. Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.(G)

David took the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers and brought them to Jerusalem.(H) King David also took huge quantities of bronze from Betah[e] and Berothai, Hadadezer’s cities.

When King Toi of Hamath(I) heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Toi and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Joram had items of silver, gold, and bronze with him. 11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued(J) 12 from Edom,[f] Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Amalekites, and the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 David made a reputation(K) for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites[g] in Salt Valley.[h](L) 14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David.(M) The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 8:1 Or took control of the mother city; Hb obscure
  2. 8:1 LXX reads them, and David took tribute out of the hand of the Philistines
  3. 8:4 LXX, DSS read 1,000 chariots and 7,000 horsemen
  4. 8:4 Or chariot horses
  5. 8:8 Some LXX mss, Syr read Tebah
  6. 8:12 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read Aram; 1Ch 18:11
  7. 8:13 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read Arameans; 1Ch 18:12
  8. 8:13 = the Dead Sea region

Ammon and Aram Defeated

10 (A)Now it happened afterward that (B)the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of (C)Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent [a]some of his servants to console him about his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, the commanders of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, “[b]Do you think that David is simply honoring your father since he has sent you servants [c]to console you? (D)Has David not sent his servants to you in order to explore the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” So Hanun took David’s servants and (E)shaved off half of their beards, and (F)cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. When messengers informed David, he sent servants to meet them, because the men were extremely humiliated. And the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then you shall return.”

Now when the sons of Ammon saw that (G)they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and (H)hired the Arameans of (I)Beth-rehob and the (J)Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of (K)Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men. When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors. And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle (L)at the entrance of the [d]city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of (M)Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.

Now when Joab saw that [e]the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans. 10 But the remainder of the people he placed [f]under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon. 11 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. 12 (N)Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and (O)may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” 13 So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and (P)they fled from him. 14 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and entered the city. (Q)Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

15 When the Arameans saw that they had been [g]defeated by Israel, they assembled together. 16 (R)And Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam; and (S)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [h]led them. 17 Now when it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans lined up against David and fought him. 18 But the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed (T)seven hundred charioteers of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been [i]defeated by Israel, (U)they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 10:2 Lit by the hand of
  2. 2 Samuel 10:3 Lit In your eyes is David honoring
  3. 2 Samuel 10:3 Lit consoling
  4. 2 Samuel 10:8 Lit gate
  5. 2 Samuel 10:9 Lit the faces of the battle were against
  6. 2 Samuel 10:10 Lit in the hand of
  7. 2 Samuel 10:15 Lit struck
  8. 2 Samuel 10:16 Lit was before them
  9. 2 Samuel 10:19 Lit struck

War with the Ammonites

10 Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.(A) Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn’t David sent his emissaries in order to scout out the city, spy on it, and demolish it?” (B) So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved off half their beards,(C) cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.(D)

When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

When the Ammonites realized they had become repulsive to David, they hired twenty thousand foot soldiers from the Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, one thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.

David heard about it and sent Joab and all the elite troops. The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were in the field by themselves. When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some of Israel’s finest young men and lined up in formation to engage the Arameans. 10 He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.

11 “If the Arameans are too strong for me,” Joab said, “then you will be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll come to help you. 12 Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God.(E) May the Lord’s will be done.”[a](F)

13 Joab and his troops advanced to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab withdrew from the attack against the Ammonites and went to Jerusalem.

15 When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam with Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.

17 When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up to engage David in battle and fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers.[b] He also struck down Shobach commander of their army, who died there. 19 When all the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:12 Lit the Lord do what is good in his eyes
  2. 10:18 Some LXX mss; MT reads horsemen; 1Ch 19:18

David’s Messengers Abused

19 (A)Now it came about after this, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son became king in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him. But the commanders among the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, “[a]Do you think that David is honoring your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Have his servants not come to you to search, to demolish, and to spy out the land?” So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. Then certain people went and told David about the men. And he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were very humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow back, then return.”

When the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent [b]a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram-maacah, and (B)Zobah. So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped opposite (C)Medeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to the battle. When David heard about it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

Ammon and Aram Defeated

10 Now when Joab saw that the [c]battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel and lined them up against the Arameans. 11 But the remainder of the people he placed [d]under the command of [e]Abshai his brother; and they lined up against the sons of Ammon. 12 He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” 14 So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to battle against the Arameans, and they fled from him. 15 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from his brother Abshai and entered the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

16 When the Arameans saw that they had been [f]defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [g]leading them. 17 When it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came upon them and drew up in formation against them. And when David drew up in battle formation against the Arameans, they fought against him. 18 And the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed of the Arameans seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers; and he put Shophach the commander of the army to death. 19 So when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been [h]defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 19:3 Lit Is David honoring your father in your eyes
  2. 1 Chronicles 19:6 About 38 tons or 34 metric tons
  3. 1 Chronicles 19:10 Lit face of the battle
  4. 1 Chronicles 19:11 Lit in the hand of
  5. 1 Chronicles 19:11 In 2 Sam 10:10, Abishai
  6. 1 Chronicles 19:16 Lit struck before
  7. 1 Chronicles 19:16 Lit before
  8. 1 Chronicles 19:19 Lit struck before

War with the Ammonites

19 Some time later,(A) King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son became king in his place. Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David’s emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him, the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, haven’t his emissaries come in order to scout out, overthrow, and spy on the land?” So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.(B)

It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

When the Ammonites realized(C) they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent thirty-eight tons[a] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.(D) They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped near Medeba.(E) The Ammonites also came together from their cities for the battle.

David heard about this and sent Joab and all the elite troops. The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance of the city while the kings who had come were in the field by themselves. 10 When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some of Israel’s finest young men[b](F) and lined up in formation to engage the Arameans. 11 He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.

12 “If the Arameans are too strong for me,” Joab said, “then you’ll be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll help you. 13 Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God.(G) May the Lord’s will be done.”[c]

14 Joab and the people with him approached the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him. 15 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Joab’s brother Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.

16 When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River. They were led by Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army.

17 When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up against them. When David lined up to engage them, they fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army. 19 When Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.

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Footnotes

  1. 19:6 Lit 1,000 talents
  2. 19:10 Lit Israel’s choice ones
  3. 19:13 Lit the Lord do what is good in his eyes