Historical

David’s Military Campaigns

18 After this,^(A) David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its surrounding villages from Philistine control. ² He also defeated the Moabites, and they became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

³ David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah at Hamath when he went to establish his control at the River Euphrates. ⁴ David captured one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, hamstrung all the horses, and kept a hundred chariots.^[a]

⁵ When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah,^(B) David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men. ⁶ Then he placed garrisons^[b](C) in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

⁷ David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer’s officers and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer’s cities, David also took huge quantities of bronze, from which Solomon made the bronze basin,^[c] the pillars, and the bronze articles.^(D)

⁹ When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Hadoram brought all kinds of gold, silver, and bronze items. ¹¹ King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all the nations – from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.

¹² Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Salt Valley. ¹³ He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel,^(E) administering justice and righteousness for all his people.

War with the Ammonites

19 Some time later,^(I) King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son became king in his place. ² Then David said, ‘I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.’

So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David’s emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him, ³ the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, ‘Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, haven’t his emissaries come in order to scout out, overthrow, and spy on the land? ’ ⁴ So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.^(J)

⁵ It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, ‘Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.’

⁶ When the Ammonites realised^(K) they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent thirty-five tonnes^[e] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.^{(L) 7} They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped near Medeba.^(M) The Ammonites also came together from their cities for the battle.

⁸ David heard about this and sent Joab and all the elite troops. ⁹ The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance of the city while the kings who had come were in the field by themselves. ¹⁰ When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some of Israel’s finest young men^[f](N) and lined up in formation to engage the Arameans. ¹¹ He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.

¹² ‘If the Arameans are too strong for me,’ Joab said, ‘then you’ll be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll help you. ¹³ Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God.^(O) May the Lord’s will be done.’^[g]

¹⁴ Joab and the people with him approached the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Joab’s brother Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans realised that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who were beyond the River Euphrates. They were led by Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army.

¹⁷ When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up against them. When David lined up to engage them, they fought against him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army. ¹⁹ When Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.

Capture of the City of Rabbah

20 In the spring^[h] when kings march out to war,^(P) Joab led the army and destroyed the Ammonites’ land. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem.^(Q) Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it. ² Then David took the crown from the head of their king,^[i][j](R) and it was placed on David’s head. He found that the crown weighed thirty-five kilograms^[k] of gold, and there was a precious stone in it. In addition, David took away a large quantity of plunder from the city. ³ He brought out the people who were in it and put them to work with saws,^[l] iron picks, and axes.^[m](S) David did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

The Philistine Giants

⁴ After this,^(T) a war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, a descendant of the Rephaim,^[n](U) and the Philistines were subdued.

⁵ Once again there was a battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath of Gath. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.^(V)

⁶ There was still another battle at Gath where there was a man of extraordinary stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot – twenty-four in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.^{[o] 7} When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of David’s brother Shimei killed him.

⁸ These were the descendants of the giant in Gath killed by David and his soldiers.