2 Samuel
Chapter 8
1
1 After this David attacked the Philistines and conquered them, wresting. . . from the Philistines.
2
2 He also defeated Moab and then measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. He told off two lengths of line for execution, and a full length to be spared. Thus the Moabites became tributary to David.
3
Next David defeated Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to reestablish his dominion at the Euphrates River.
4
David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers. And he hamstrung all the chariot horses, preserving only enough for a hundred chariots.
5
When the Arameans of Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David slew twenty-two thousand of them.
6
David then placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subjects, tributary to David. The LORD brought David victory in all his undertakings.
7
David also took away the golden shields used by Hadadezer's servants and brought them to Jerusalem. (These Shishak, king of Egypt, took away when he came to Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon.)
8
From Tebah and Berothai, towns of Hadadezer, King David removed a very large quantity of bronze.
9
When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the forces of Hadadezer,
10
he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer in battle, because Toi had been in many battles with Hadadezer. Hadoram also brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze.
11
These, too, King David consecrated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold he had taken from every nation he had conquered:
12
from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites, from the Philistines, from the Amalekites, and from the plunder of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13
3 On his return, David became famous for having slain eighteen thousand Edomites in the Salt Valley;
14
after which he placed garrisons in Edom. Thus all the Edomites became David's subjects, and the LORD brought David victory in all his undertakings.
15
David reigned over all Israel, judging and administering justice to all his people.
16
Joab, son of Zeruiah, was in command of the army. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was chancellor.
17
Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests. Shawsha was scribe.
18
Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and Pelethites. And David's sons were priests.
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Footnotes

1 [1] Wresting . . . : the Hebrew text here gives "the bridle of the cubit"; 1 Chron 18:1 understood "Gath and its dependent villages"; others implausibly read "dominion of the capital city."

2 [2] Two lengths . . . a full length: usually taken to mean that two-thirds of them were executed; but it could mean that two-thirds were spared, if the line was used full length in their case but doubled on itself to make "two lines" for those to be put to death.

3 [13] On his return: possibly to Jerusalem, after the revolt of Absalom, a circumstance which this catalogue of victories would avoid mentioning. 1 Chron 18:13 attributes the defeat of the Edomites to Abishai.


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