David's wars · Chronicles: David's wars · After the victory over Edom

2 Samuel 9–10 WEB

^9:1David said, “Is there yet any who is left of Saul’s house, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ²There was of Saul’s house a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “I am your servant.” ³The king said, “Is there not yet any of Saul’s house, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “Jonathan still has a son, who is lame in his feet.” ⁴The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.” ⁵Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. ⁶Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, fell on his face, and showed respect. David said, “Mephibosheth?” He answered, “Behold, your servant!” ⁷David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your father. You will eat bread at my table continually.” ⁸He bowed down, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look at such a dead dog as I am?” ⁹Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s son. ¹⁰Till the land for him—you, your sons, and your servants. Bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have bread to eat; but Mephibosheth your master’s son will always eat bread at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table like one of the king’s sons. ¹²Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. All who lived in Ziba’s house were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. He was lame in both his feet.

^10:1After this, the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. ²David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. ³But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Hasn’t David sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” ⁴So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵When they told David this, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” ⁶When the children of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men. ⁷When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. ⁸The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate. The Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field. ⁹Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel and put them in array against the Syrians. ¹⁰The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and he put them in array against the children of Ammon. ¹¹He said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ¹²Be courageous, and let’s be strong for our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what seems good to him.” ¹³So Joab and the people who were with him came near to the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. ¹⁴When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab returned from the children of Ammon and came to Jerusalem. ¹⁵When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head. ¹⁷David was told that; and he gathered all Israel together, passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Syrians set themselves in array against David and fought with him. ¹⁸The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers of the Syrians and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the captain of their army, so that he died there. ¹⁹When all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the children of Ammon any more.

1 Chronicles 18–19 WEB

^18:1After 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.

^19:1After this, Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. ²David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun to comfort him. ³But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Haven’t his servants come to you to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land?” ⁴So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵Then some people went and told David how the men were treated. He sent to meet them; for the men were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” ⁶When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah. ⁷So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah with his people, who came and encamped near Medeba. The children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle. ⁸When David heard of it, he sent Joab with all the army of the mighty men. ⁹The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. ¹⁰Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose some of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. ¹¹The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and they put themselves in array against the children of Ammon. ¹²He said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you are to help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. ¹³Be courageous, and let’s be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD do that which seems good to him.” ¹⁴So Joab and the people who were with him came near to the front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him. ¹⁵When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem. ¹⁶When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and called out the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer leading them. ¹⁷David was told that, so he gathered all Israel together, passed over the Jordan, came to them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. ¹⁸The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrian men seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand footmen, and also killed Shophach the captain of the army. ¹⁹When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. The Syrians would not help the children of Ammon any more.

Psalm 60 WEB

¹God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again. ²You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes. ³You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger. ⁴You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. ⁵So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us. ⁶God has spoken from his sanctuary: “I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter. ⁸Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my sandal on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia.” ⁹Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom? ¹⁰Haven’t you, God, rejected us? You don’t go out with our armies, God. ¹¹Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain. ¹²Through God we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.