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David Defeats the Philistines

17 When the Philistines heard that David had been ·made [anointed] king over Israel, all the Philistines went to ·look for [seek; search for] him. But when David heard the news, he went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines ·came [arrived] and ·camped [L spread out] in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 David ·asked [consulted; inquired of] the Lord [C through the Urim and Thummim; Ex. 28:30; 1 Sam. 23:1–6], “Should I ·attack [L go up against] the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord said to David, “Go [L up]! I will ·certainly [surely] hand them over to you.”

20 So David went to Baal Perazim and ·defeated [L struck] the Philistines there. David said, “Like a flood of water, the Lord has broken through my enemies in front of me.” So David named the place Baal Perazim [C “the Lord breaks through”]. 21 The Philistines ·left their idols behind [abandoned their idols] at Baal Perazim, so David and his men carried them away.

22 Once again the Philistines came and ·camped at [L spread out in] the Valley of Rephaim. 23 When David ·prayed to [consulted; inquired of] the Lord, he answered, “Don’t ·attack the Philistines from the front [go up]. Instead, go around and attack them ·in front of [across from; near] the balsam trees. 24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, ·act quickly [be alert]. I, the Lord, will have gone ahead of you to ·defeat [L strike] the Philistine army.” 25 So David did what the Lord commanded. He ·defeated the Philistines and chased them [L struck the Philistines] all the way from ·Gibeon [Giba] to Gezer.

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