Chronological
David wins more fights[a]
8 Some time later, David attacked the Philistines, and he won the fight against them. He now had power over them and over their towns.
2 David also won a battle against the Moabites. He made the Moabite prisoners lie down on the ground. Then he used a piece of rope to measure them into groups. When he had measured two groups, he would tell his men to kill all those prisoners. When he measured the next group, he would let those prisoners stay alive. So the Moabites were now under David's authority and they began to pay taxes to him.
3 David also won a battle against Rehob's son, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. This happened when Hadadezer took his army to the Euphrates river to show that he had authority there. 4 David took from Hadadezer 1,700 men who drove chariots. He also caught 20,000 of Hadadezer's other soldiers. David kept 100 of the horses that pulled chariots. But he cut the legs of the other horses so that they could not run.
5 The Syrians from Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer of Zobah. But David killed 22,000 soldiers of the Syrian army. 6 David put groups of his soldiers in Damascus to be guards over the Syrian people. So the Syrians were now under David's authority and they paid taxes to him. The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.
7 David took the gold shields that Hadadezer's officers had carried. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. 8 David also took a lot of bronze things from Tebah and Berothai, towns that had belonged to Hadadezer.
9 Toi, the king of Hamath, heard news that David had won the battle against the whole army of Hadadezer. 10 There had been a war between King Hadadezer and King Toi. So now Toi sent his son, Joram to say ‘hello’ to David. He wanted to thank David because he had won the battle against King Hadadezer. Joram brought gifts to David that were made of gold, silver and bronze.
11 David took these gifts and he offered them to the Lord. He also offered to the Lord all the silver and gold things that he had taken from other nations. Those were all the nations that David had won against in battle. 12 They included Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and the Amalekites. He also offered to the Lord things that he had taken from Rehob's son, King Hadadezer of Zobah.
13 After that, David's army won a battle in the Valley of Salt against 18,000 Edomites. David became very famous because of that. 14 He put groups of his soldiers in every part of Edom's land, so that David had authority over all the Edomites. The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.
David's officers
15 David ruled over all Israel. He did everything that was right and fair for all his people. 16 Zeruiah's son, Joab, was the leader of Israel's army. Ahilud's son, Jehoshaphat, wrote down the important things that happened. 17 Ahitub's son Zadok and Abiathar's son Ahimelech were priests. Seraiah was David's secretary. 18 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was the leader of David's personal guards.[b] David's sons served as priests.[c]
David helps Mephibosheth
9 David asked, ‘Is there anyone from Saul's family who is still alive? I want to be kind to them because Jonathan was my friend.’
2 Saul's family had a servant called Ziba. So they asked him to come to see David. The king said to him, ‘Are you Ziba?’
Ziba replied, ‘Yes, I am your servant.’
3 The king asked him, ‘Is there anyone from Saul's family who is still alive? I want to be kind to them because of God's faithful love for his people.’[d]
Ziba replied, ‘One of Jonathan's sons still lives. But both his feet are weak so that he cannot walk properly.’
4 The king asked Ziba, ‘Where is he?’
Ziba answered, ‘He lives in the house of Ammiel's son, Makir, in Lo-Debar.’
5 So David sent his men to bring him from the house of Ammiel's son, Makir, in Lo-Debar.
6 Then Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, grandson of Saul, came to David. He bent his body down to the ground to respect David.
David said, ‘Mephibosheth!’
Mephibosheth replied, ‘Yes, I am your servant.’
7 David said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. I will be kind to you because your father Jonathan was my friend. I will give back to you all the land which belonged to your grandfather, Saul. You will always be able to eat here with me.’
8 Mephibosheth bent his body low. He said, ‘I am your servant, no better than a dead dog. I do not deserve that you should be so kind to me.’
9 Then David sent his men to fetch Saul's servant, Ziba. David said to him, ‘I have given everything that belonged to Saul or his family to your master's grandson, Mephibosheth. 10 You, your sons and your servants must work on the land for him. You must grow crops that will be food for your master's grandson to eat. But Mephibosheth will always be able to eat with me.’ Ziba himself had 15 sons and 20 servants.
11 Ziba said to the king, ‘I am your servant. I will do everything that my lord the king has told me to do.’ So after that, Mephibosheth ate meals at the king's table. He was like one of the king's own sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son called Mica. Ziba and all his family and servants became servants to Mephibosheth. 13 That is how Mephibosheth came to live in Jerusalem. He could always eat his meals at the king's table. He had two weak feet, so he could not walk properly.
David wins against his enemies
18 After some time, David attacked the Philistines and he won against them. He took Gath city and the villages around it from the Philistines.
2 David also won a battle against the Moabites. They were now under David's authority and they paid taxes to him.
3 David also won a battle against Hadadezer, king of Zobah. He won land as far as Hamath. That happened when Hadadezer took his army to the Euphrates river to show that he had authority there. 4 David took from Hadadezer 1,000 chariots and 7,000 men who drove them. He also caught 20,000 of Hadadezer's other soldiers. David kept 100 horses that pulled chariots. But he cut the legs of the other horses so that they could not run.
5 The Syrians from Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer of Zobah. But David killed 22,000 soldiers of the Syrian army. 6 David put some of his soldiers in Damascus to keep his authority over the Syrian people. They had to pay taxes to King David.
The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.
7 David took the gold shields that Hadadezer's officers had carried. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. 8 David also took a lot of bronze things from Tebah and Cun. Those towns had belonged to Hadadezer towns. Later, Solomon used that bronze to make the big bath in the temple that was called ‘the Sea’. He also used the bronze to make pillars and other things for the temple.
9 Tou, the king of Hamath, heard news that David had won the battle against the whole army of King Hadadezer of Zobah. 10 There had been a war between King Hadadezer and King Tou. So Tou sent his son, Hadoram, to say ‘hello’ to King David. He wanted to praise David because he had won the battle against King Hadadezer. He also sent many gifts of gold, silver and bronze to David.
11 King David took those gifts and he offered them to the Lord. He also offered to the Lord all the silver and gold things that he had taken from other nations. Those nations were Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and the Amalekites.
12 Zeruiah's son Abishai killed 18,000 men from Edom in the Valley of Salt. 13 He put groups of his soldiers in Edom, so that David had authority over all the Edomites.
The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.
David's officers
14 David ruled over all Israel. He did everything that was right and fair for all his people. 15 Zeruiah's son Joab was the leader of Israel's army. Ahilud's son Jehoshaphat wrote down the important things that happened. 16 Ahitub's son Zadok and Abiathar's son Ahimelech were priests. Shavsha was David's secretary. 17 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was the leader of David's personal guards. David's sons were his most important officers.[a]
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