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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.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:2 Literally “the filling of a cord”
  2. 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
  3. 2 Samuel 8:3 Hebrew “hand”
  4. 2 Samuel 8:4 Literally “men of infantry”
  5. 2 Samuel 8:4 Literally “from him”
  6. 2 Samuel 8:7 Literally “been”
  7. 2 Samuel 8:10 Literally “to ask peace for himself”
  8. 2 Samuel 8:10 Literally “for Hadadezer was a man of wars with Toi”
  9. 2 Samuel 8:10 Literally “In his hand were”
  10. 2 Samuel 8:12 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  11. 2 Samuel 8:15 Hebrew “David”
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2 Samuel 8:1-15
New English Translation

David Subjugates Nearby Nations

8 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah[a] from the Philistines.[b] 2 He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third.[c] The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.[d] 3 David defeated King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah when he came to reestablish[e] his authority[f] over the Euphrates[g] River. 4 David seized from him 1,700 charioteers[h] and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but 100 of the chariot horses.[i] 5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans. 6 David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected[j] David wherever he campaigned.[k] 7 David took the golden shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s servants and brought them to Jerusalem.[l] 8 From Tebah[m] and Berothai, Hadadezer’s cities, King David took a great deal of bronze.

9 When King Toi[n] of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he[o] sent his son Joram[p] to King David to extend his best wishes[q] and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Toi had been at war with Hadadezer.[r] He brought with him various items made of silver, gold, and bronze.[s] 11 King David dedicated these things to the Lord,[t] along with the dedicated silver and gold that he had taken from[u] all the nations that he had subdued, 12 including[v] Edom,[w] Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek. This also included some of the plunder taken from[x] King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah.

13 David became famous[y] when he returned from defeating the Edomites[z] in the Valley of Salt; he defeated[aa] 18,000 in all. 14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom,[ab] and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned. 15 David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people.[ac]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 8:1 tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).
  2. 2 Samuel 8:1 tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”
  3. 2 Samuel 8:2 tn Heb “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”
  4. 2 Samuel 8:2 tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”
  5. 2 Samuel 8:3 tc The LXX has ἐπιστῆσαι (epistēsai, “cause to stand”). See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.
  6. 2 Samuel 8:3 tn Heb “hand.”
  7. 2 Samuel 8:3 tn The MT does not have the name “Euphrates” in the text. It is supplied in the margin (Qere) as one of ten places where the Masoretes believed that something was “to be read although it was not written” in the text as they had received it. The ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate) include the word. See also the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.
  8. 2 Samuel 8:4 tc The LXX has “1,000 chariots and 7,000 charioteers,” a reading adopted in the text of the NIV. See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:4.
  9. 2 Samuel 8:4 tn Heb “and David cut the hamstrings of all the chariot horses, and he left from them 100 chariot horses.”
  10. 2 Samuel 8:6 tn Or “delivered.”
  11. 2 Samuel 8:6 tn Or “wherever he went.”
  12. 2 Samuel 8:7 tc The LXX includes seventeen words (in Greek) at the end of v. 7 that are not found in the MT. The LXX addition is as follows: “And Sousakim king of Egypt took them when he came up to Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam the son of Solomon.” This Greek reading now finds Hebrew support in 4QSama. For a reconstruction of this poorly preserved Qumran text see E. C. Ulrich, Jr., The Qumran Text of Samuel and Josephus (HSM), 45-48.
  13. 2 Samuel 8:8 tn Heb “Betah” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV), but the name should probably be corrected to “Tebah.” See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:8.
  14. 2 Samuel 8:9 tn The name is spelled “Tou” in the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:9. NIV adopts the spelling “Tou” here.
  15. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “Toi.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  16. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn The name appears as “Hadoram” in the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:10.
  17. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “to ask concerning him for peace.”
  18. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “and to bless him because he fought with Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer was a man of battles with Toi.”
  19. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “and in his hand were items of silver and items of gold and items of bronze.”
  20. 2 Samuel 8:11 tn Heb “also them King David made holy to the Lord.”
  21. 2 Samuel 8:11 tn Heb “with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from.”
  22. 2 Samuel 8:12 tn Heb “from.”
  23. 2 Samuel 8:12 tc Heb “Aram.” A few Hebrew mss along with the LXX and Syriac read “Edom” (cf. 2 Sam 8:14 and 1 Chr 18:11). Aram and Edom are spelled similarly, the difference being a ד (dalet) vs. a ר (resh). Besides the textual witnesses, the geography in v. 13, the Valley of Salt, fits Edom and not Aram.
  24. 2 Samuel 8:12 tn Heb “and from the plunder of.”
  25. 2 Samuel 8:13 tn Heb “made a name.”
  26. 2 Samuel 8:13 tc See the note on “Aram” in v. 12.
  27. 2 Samuel 8:13 tn The words “he defeated” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  28. 2 Samuel 8:14 tc The MT is repetitious here: “He placed in Edom garrisons; in all Edom he placed garrisons.” The Vulgate lacks “in all Edom”; most of the Greek tradition (with the exception of the Lucianic recension and the recension of Origen) and the Syriac Peshitta lack “he placed garrisons.” The MT reading appears here to be the result of a conflation of variant readings.
  29. 2 Samuel 8:15 tn Heb “and David was doing what is just and fair for all his people.”
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