1 Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3 ¶ And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish his dominion by the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses , but reserved of them an hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria-damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought gifts. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Likewise from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
9 ¶ Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah; 10 He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
11 ¶ Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek. 12 Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.
13 ¶ And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
14 ¶ So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. 15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder. 16 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; 17 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.
David's Military Victories
(2 Samuel 8.1-18)1 Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again and defeated them. He took out of their control the city of Gath and its surrounding villages. 2 He also defeated the Moabites, who became his subjects and paid taxes to him.
3 Next, David attacked King Hadadezer of the Syrian state of Zobah, near the territory of Hamath, because Hadadezer was trying to gain control of the territory by the upper Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry troops, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.
5 When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men. 6 Then he set up military camps in their territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The Lord made David victorious everywhere. 7 David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officials and took them to Jerusalem. 8 He also took a great quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Kun, cities ruled by Hadadezer. (Solomon later used this bronze to make the tank, the columns, and the bronze utensils for the Temple.)
9 King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's entire army. 10 So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram brought David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he conquered—Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.
12 Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, defeated the Edomites in Salt Valley and killed eighteen thousand of them. 13 He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became King David's subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.
14 David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly. 15 Abishai's brother Joab was commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records; 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was court secretary; 17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and King David's sons held high positions in his service.
