2 Samuel 8 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David' servants, and brought gifts. 3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots , and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses , but reserved of them for an hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass. 9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, 10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: 11 Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; 12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men . 14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David' servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe; 18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David' sons were chief rulers.

New International Reader’s Version

David wins many battles

1 While David was king of Israel, he won many battles over the Philistines. He brought them under his control. He took Metheg Ammah away from them. 2 David also won the battle over the people of Moab. He made them lie down on the ground. Then he measured them off with a piece of rope. He put two-thirds of them to death. He let the other third remain alive. So the Moabites were brought under David’s rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him. 3 David fought against Hadadezer, the son of Rehob. Hadadezer was king of Zobah. He had gone to repair his monument at the River Euphrates. 4 David captured 1,000 of Hadadezer’s chariots, 7,000 chariot riders and 20,000 soldiers on foot. He cut the legs of all but 100 of the chariot horses. 5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. But David struck down 22,000 of them. 6 He stationed some soldiers in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus. The people of Aram were brought under his rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him. The LORD helped David win his battles everywhere he went. 7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. 8 He took a huge amount of bronze from Tebah and Berothai. Those towns belonged to Hadadezer. 9 Tou was king of Hamath. He heard that David had won the battle over the entire army of Hadadezer. 10 So Tou sent his son Joram to King David. Joram greeted David. He praised David because he had won the battle over Hadadezer. Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. So Joram brought with him gifts made out of silver, of gold and of bronze. 11 King David set those gifts apart for the LORD. He had done the same thing with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations. Those were nations he had brought under his control. 12 Those nations were Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia and Amalek. He also set apart for the LORD what he had taken from Hadadezer, the son of Rehob. Hadadezer was king of Zobah. 13 David returned after he had struck down 18,000 men of Edom in the Valley of Salt. He became famous for doing it. 14 He stationed some soldiers all through Edom. The whole nation of Edom was brought under David’s rule. The LORD helped him win his battles everywhere he went.

David’s officials

15 David ruled over the whole nation of Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people. 16 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was commander over the army. Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, kept the records. 17 Zadok, the son of Ahitub, was a priest. Ahimelek, the son of Abiathar, was also a priest. Seraiah was the secretary. 18 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was commander over the Kerethites and Pelethites. And David’s sons were priests.