David’s victories. His chief officers.

¹ Now after these things, it happened that David struck the Philistines, and he humbled them, and he took Gath and her daughters from the hand of the Philistines.

² And he struck Moab. And the Moabites became the servants of David, offering gifts to him.

³ In that time, David also struck Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, in the region of Hamath, when he went forth so that he might extend his dominion as far as the river Euphrates.

⁴ Then David seized one thousand of his four-horse chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand men on foot. And he hamstrung all the chariot horses, except for one hundred four-horse chariots, which he reserved for himself.¹

1. 18:4When compared to 2 Samuel 8:4, the number of horsemen does not agree. This might be a typographical error in certain manuscripts, or there might be an explanation such that one number is true in one sense, and the other number is true in another sense.(Conte)

⁵ Then the Syrians of Damascus also arrived, so that they might offer assistance to Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. And so, David then struck of them twenty-two thousand men.

⁶ And he stationed soldiers in Damascus, so that Syria also would serve him, and would offer gifts. And the Lord assisted him in all the things to which he went forth.

⁷ Also, David took the golden quivers, which the servants of Hadadezer had, and he brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸ In addition, from Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, he brought very much brass, from which Solomon made the sea of brass, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

⁹ Now when Toi, the king of Hamath, had heard this, specifically that David had struck the entire army of Hadadezer, the king of Zobah,

¹⁰ he sent his son Hadoram to king David so that he might petition peace from him, and so that he might congratulate him that he had struck and defeated Hadadezer. For indeed, Toi was an adversary to Hadadezer.

¹¹ Moreover, all the vessels of gold and silver and brass king David consecrated to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had taken from all the nations, as much from Idumea, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon, as from the Philistines and Amalek.

¹² Truly, Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, struck eighteen thousand of the Edomites in the Valley of the Salt Pits.

¹³ And he stationed a garrison in Edom, so that Idumea would serve David. And the Lord saved David in all the things to which he went forth.

¹⁴ Therefore, David reigned over all of Israel, and he executed judgment and justice among all his people.

¹⁵ Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the army, and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the keeper of records.

¹⁶ And Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were the priests. And Shavsha was the scribe.

¹⁷ Also, Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the legions of the Cherethites and Pelethites. But the sons of David were first at the hand of the king.