Chronological
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. 16 (T)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; (U)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 (V)Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; [k]Seraiah was the [l]scribe; 18 (W)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the (X)Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [m]chief ministers.
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may (Y)show him [n]kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was (Z)Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He said, “At your service!”
3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show (AA)the kindness of God?”
And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is (AB)lame in his feet.”
4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?”
And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of (AC)Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”
5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6 Now when (AD)Mephibosheth[o] the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”
And he answered, “Here is your servant!”
7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such (AE)a dead dog as I?”
9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, (AF)“I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son (AG)shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had (AH)fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”
“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at [p]my table like one of the king’s sons.” 12 Mephibosheth had a young son (AI)whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, (AJ)for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he (AK)was lame in both his feet.
David’s Further Conquests(A)
18 After this (B)it came to pass that David [a]attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. 2 Then he [b]defeated (C)Moab, and the Moabites became David’s (D)servants, and brought tribute.
3 And (E)David [c]defeated [d]Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, [e]seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David [f]hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.
5 When the (F)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 the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from [g]Tibhath and from [h]Chun, cities of [i]Hadadezer, David brought a large amount of (G)bronze, with which (H)Solomon made the bronze [j]Sea, the pillars, and the articles of bronze.
9 Now when [k]Tou king of Hamath heard that David had [l]defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent [m]Hadoram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and [n]defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou); and Hadoram brought with him all kinds of (I)articles of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the (J)people of Ammon, from the (K)Philistines, and from (L)Amalek.
12 Moreover (M)Abishai the son of Zeruiah killed (N)eighteen thousand [o]Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 (O)He also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
David’s Administration(P)
14 So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and justice to all his people. 15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 Zadok the son of Ahitub and [p]Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; [q]Shavsha was the scribe; 17 (Q)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [r]chief ministers at the king’s side.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.