2 Samuel 8:1

¹After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines. ²He defeated Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

³David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah, toward Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. ⁴David took from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them enough for one hundred chariots. ⁵When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck twenty-two thousand men of the Syrians. ⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. ⁷David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸From Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took very much bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze sea, the pillars, and the vessels of bronze.

⁹When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him (for Hadadezer had wars with Tou); and he had with him all kinds of vessels of gold and silver and bronze. ¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations: from Edom, from Moab, from the children of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹²Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah struck eighteen thousand of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³He put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

¹⁴David reigned over all Israel; and he executed justice and righteousness for all his people. ¹⁵Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; ¹⁶Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was scribe; ¹⁷and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief officials serving the king.

¹⁵The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. David grew faint; ¹⁶and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, he being armed with a new sword, thought he would kill David. ¹⁷But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “Don’t go out with us to battle any more, so that you don’t quench the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was of the sons of the giant. ¹⁹There was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite’s brother, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ²⁰There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on every hand and six toes on every foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was born to the giant. ²¹When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, killed him. ²²These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

²⁴But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

⁹I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.