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

To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of[a] “Lily of The Covenant,” for teaching about his battle with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, when Joab returned and attacked 12,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.[b]

A Prayer for God’s Help against Adversaries

60 God, you have cast us off;
    you have breached our defenses
and you have become enraged.
    Return to us!
You made the earth quake;
    you broke it open.
Repair its fractures,
    because it has shifted.
You made your people go through hard times;
    you had us drink wine that makes us stagger.

But you have given a banner to those who fear you,
    so they may display it in honor of truth.[c]
Interlude
So your loved ones may be delivered,
    save us by your power[d]
        and answer us quickly!

Then God spoke in his holiness,

“I will rejoice—
    I will divide Shechem;
        I will portion out the Succoth Valley.
Gilead belongs to me,
    and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet,
    and Judah my scepter.
Moab is my wash basin;
    over Edom I will throw my shoes;
        over Philistia I will celebrate my triumph.”

Who will lead me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Aren’t you the one, God, who has cast us off?
    Didn’t you refuse, God, to accompany our armies?

11 Help us in our distress,
    for human help is worthless.
12 Through God we will fight[e] valiantly;
    and it is he who will crush our enemies.[f]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 60:1 Lit. David according to
  2. Psalm 60:1 I.e. Dead Sea region
  3. Psalm 60:4 Or display it because of the archer
  4. Psalm 60:5 Lit. right hand
  5. Psalm 60:12 Lit. will do
  6. Psalm 60:12 vv.5-12 is the same as Psalm 108:6-13.

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.

Read full chapter

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 Military Victories(A)

Sometime later, David defeated and subdued the Philistines, taking Metheg-ammah away from the Philistines. David also conquered Moab, then measured them with a cord, making them lie down on the ground. He executed everyone measured out in each two lengths’ measurement of the cord, but spared the ones measured out by every third length. Then the Moabites were placed under servitude to David, and made to pay tribute.

David also attacked King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah, when he was attempting to restore his hegemony[a] over the Euphrates[b] River. David captured 1,000 of his chariots, 1,700[c] horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses except for enough to supply[d] 100 chariots. When Arameans came from Damascus to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. David erected garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, placing the Arameans under servitude to him,[e] and they paid tribute to him. David also confiscated the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s officers and took them to Jerusalem. He[f] also confiscated a vast quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, cities under Hadadezer’s control.

When King Tou of Hamath learned that David had conquered the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 10 Tou sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory over Hadadezer, because he had been at war with Tou. Joram brought articles of silver, gold, and bronze with him, 11 and King David dedicated them to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that had been dedicated from all the nations that he had conquered, 12 including from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and spoil from King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah.

13 David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley. 14 He erected garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subservient to David, while the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:3 Lit. hand
  2. 2 Samuel 8:3 The Heb. lacks Euphrates
  3. 2 Samuel 8:4 So MT; LXX reads 7,000; cf. 1Chr 18:4
  4. 2 Samuel 8:4 The Heb. lacks enough to supply
  5. 2 Samuel 8:6 Lit. David
  6. 2 Samuel 8:8 Lit. David

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.

Read full chapter

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

Subjugation of Ammon and Aram(A)

10 Sometime later, the Ammonite king died and his son Hanun succeeded him as king, so David told himself, “I will be loyal to Nahash’s son Hanun, since in his loyalty his father showed gracious love to me.” So David sent a delegation[a] to Hanun to console him about his loss of[b] his father.

But when David’s delegation arrived in Ammonite territory, the Ammonite officials asked their lord Hanun, “Do you think that because David has sent a delegation of consolers to you that he is honoring your father? His delegation has arrived intending to search, scout the land, and then overthrow it, hasn’t it?” So Hanun arrested David’s delegation, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their clothes at the waist line, and sent them away in disgrace.[c]

When David had been informed about the incident,[d] he sent word[e] to them, since the men had been deeply humiliated. The king told them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”

When the Ammonites realized that they had created quite a stink with[f] David, they hired 20,000 Aramean mercenaries from Beth-rehob and Zobah, along with the king of Maacah and 1,000 men, and 12,000 men from Tob. In response, David sent out Joab and his entire army of elite soldiers. The Ammonites went out in battle formation at the entrance to the city[g] gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob, along with the army[h] from Tob and Maacah, were out by themselves in the open fields.

When Joab observed that the battle lines were set up to oppose him both in front and behind, he appointed the best troops in Israel and arrayed them to oppose the Arameans, 10 putting the rest of his forces under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them to oppose the Ammonites. 11 He said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, then you are to help me. If the Ammonites prove too strong for you, then I will come help you. 12 Be strong, be courageous on behalf of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what he thinks is best.”

13 So Joab and the soldiers who were with him attacked the Arameans in battle formation, and the Arameans retreated in front of him. 14 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans retreating, they also retreated from Abishai back to the city. Then Joab broke off his attack against the Ammonites and went back to Jerusalem. 15 After the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River,[i] and they set out for Helam, with Shobach[j] leading them as commander of Hadadezer’s army.

17 When David learned this, he mustered all of Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and approached Helam. The Arameans assembled in battle array to attack David, and started their assault. 18 But the Arameans retreated from Israel, and David’s forces[k] killed 700 of their charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and mortally wounded Shobach, the commander of their army. As a result, Shobach[l] died there. 19 When all the kings who were allied with[m] Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sought terms of peace with the Israelis and became subservient to them. Furthermore, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 10:2 Lit. sent by the hand of his servants
  2. 2 Samuel 10:2 The Heb. lacks his loss of
  3. 2 Samuel 10:4 The Heb. lacks in disgrace
  4. 2 Samuel 10:5 The Heb. lacks about the incident
  5. 2 Samuel 10:5 The Heb. lacks word
  6. 2 Samuel 10:6 Lit. had become odious to
  7. 2 Samuel 10:8 The Heb. lacks city
  8. 2 Samuel 10:8 Lit. men
  9. 2 Samuel 10:16 The Heb. lacks Euphrates
  10. 2 Samuel 10:16 Cf. 1Chr 19:16, which reads Shophach
  11. 2 Samuel 10:18 Lit. David
  12. 2 Samuel 10:18 Lit. he
  13. 2 Samuel 10:19 Lit. were servants of

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.

Read full chapter

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

Subjugation of Ammon and Aram(A)

19 Some time later, King Nahash of Ammon died and his son succeeded him, so David told himself, “I will be loyal to Nahash’s son Hanun, since his father showed loyal, gracious love to me.” So David sent a delegation[a] to console him about his loss of his[b] father.

But when David’s delegation arrived to visit[c] Hanun in Ammonite territory to console him, the Ammonite officials asked Hanun, “Do you think that because David has sent a delegation of consolers to you that he is honoring your father? His delegation has arrived to search, overthrow, and scout the land, hasn’t it?” So Hanun arrested David’s delegation, shaved off their beards, cut off their clothes at the waist line, and sent them away in disgrace.[d]

After they had departed, David was informed about the men, so he sent word[e] to them, since they had been deeply humiliated. He told them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”

When the Ammonites realized that they had created quite a stink with David, Hanun and the Ammonites spent 1,000 silver talents[f] to hire chariots and mercenaries from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah, and from Zobah. They hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his army, who arrived and encamped at Medeba. The Ammonites also were mustered and came out to battle from their home cities. In response, David sent out Joab and his entire army of elite soldiers. The Ammonites went out in battle formation in front of the entrance to the city while the kings who had come stayed by themselves in the open fields.

10 When Joab observed that the battle lines were set up to oppose him both in front and behind, he appointed some special forces from Israel and arrayed them to oppose the Arameans, 11 putting the rest of his forces under command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them to oppose the Ammonites. 12 He told Abishai,[g] “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, then you are to help me. If the Ammonites prove too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be strong, be courageous on behalf of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what he thinks is best.” 14 So Joab and the soldiers who were with him attacked the Arameans in battle formation, and the Arameans retreated in front of him. 15 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans retreating, they also retreated from Joab’s brother Abishai back to the city and Joab left for Jerusalem. 16 After the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River.[h] Shophach[i] was leading them as commander of Hadadezer’s army.

17 When David learned this, he mustered all of Israel, crossed the Jordan, approached the Arameans, and drew up his forces against them. After David had assembled in battle array against the Arameans, the Arameans[j] attacked him. 18 The Arameans retreated from Israel, and David’s forces[k] killed 7,000 Aramean charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and Shophach, the commander of their army. 19 When Hadadezer’s officials saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sought terms of peace with David and became subservient to him. After this, the Arameans were unwilling to help the Ammonites anymore.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 19:2 Lit. servants; and so throughout the section
  2. 1 Chronicles 19:2 The Heb. lacks his loss of
  3. 1 Chronicles 19:2 The Heb. lacks visit
  4. 1 Chronicles 19:4 The Heb. lacks in disgrace
  5. 1 Chronicles 19:5 The Heb. lacks word
  6. 1 Chronicles 19:6 I.e., about 75,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  7. 1 Chronicles 19:12 The Heb. lacks to Abishai
  8. 1 Chronicles 19:16 The Heb. lacks Euphrates
  9. 1 Chronicles 19:16 Cf. 2Sam 10:16, which reads Shobach
  10. 1 Chronicles 19:17 Lit. Arameans, they
  11. 1 Chronicles 19:18 Lit. David