18:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. He took Gath and its surrounding towns 1 away from the Philistines. 2
18:2 He defeated the Moabites; the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. 3
18:3 David defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah as far as Hamath, when he went to extend his authority 4 to the Euphrates River. 5 18:4 David seized from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, 6 and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of Hadadezer’s 7 chariot horses. 8 18:5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans. 18:6 David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; 9 the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected 10 David wherever he campaigned. 11 18:7 David took the golden shields which Hadadezer’s servants had carried 12 and brought them to Jerusalem. 13 18:8 From Tibhath 14 and Kun, 15 Hadadezer’s cities, David took a great deal of bronze. (Solomon used it to make the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” 16 the pillars, and other bronze items.
18:9 When King Tou 17 of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 18:10 he sent his son Hadoram 18 to King David to extend his best wishes 19 and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Tou had been at war with Hadadezer. 20 He also sent various items made of gold, silver, and bronze. 21 18:11 King David dedicated these things to the Lord, 22 along with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, including 23 Edom, 24 Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
18:12 Abishai son of Zeruiah 25 killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 18:13 He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected 26 David wherever he campaigned. 27
18:14 David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people. 28 18:15 Joab son of Zeruiah was commanding general of 29 the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was secretary; 18:16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha 30 was scribe; 18:17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada supervised 31 the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were the king’s leading officials. 32
19:1 Later King Nahash of the Ammonites died and his son succeeded him. 19:2 David said, “I will express my loyalty 33 to Hanun son of Nahash, for his father was loyal 34 to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy over his father’s death. 35 When David’s servants entered Ammonite territory to visit Hanun and express the king’s sympathy, 36 19:3 the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? 37 No, his servants have come to you so they can get information and spy out the land!” 38 19:4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved their beards off. 39 He cut off the lower part of their robes so that their buttocks were exposed 40 and then sent them away. 19:5 Messengers 41 came and told David what had happened to the men, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho 42 until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”
19:6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, 43 Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents 44 of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah, and Zobah. 45 19:7 They hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his army, who came and camped in front of Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from their cities and marched out to do battle.
19:8 When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them. 46 19:9 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance to the city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. 19:10 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. 47 19:11 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 19:12 Joab 48 said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, 49 you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, 50 I will come to your rescue. 19:13 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” 51 19:14 So Joab and his men 52 marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him. 19:15 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before Joab’s 53 brother Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem. 54
19:16 When the Arameans realized they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for reinforcements from beyond the Euphrates River, 55 led by Shophach the commanding general of Hadadezer’s army. 56 19:17 When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, 57 and marched against them. 58 David deployed his army against the Arameans for battle and they fought against him. 59 19:18 The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 7,000 60 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 infantrymen; he also killed Shophach 61 the commanding general. 19:19 When Hadadezer’s subjects saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.
20:1 In the spring, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, 62 Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down. 20:2 David took the crown from the head of their king 63 and wore it 64 (its weight was a talent 65 of gold and it was set with precious stones). He took a large amount of plunder from the city. 20:3 He removed the city’s residents and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. 66 This was his policy 67 with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.
20:4 Later there was a battle 68 with the Philistines in Gezer. 69 At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, 70 one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and the Philistines 71 were subdued.
20:5 There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, 72 whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom. 73
20:6 In a battle in Gath 74 there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot – twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha. 20:7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, 75 David’s brother, killed him.
20:8 These were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed 76 by the hand of David and his soldiers. 77
21:1 An adversary 78 opposed 79 Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. 80 21:2 David told Joab and the leaders of the army, 81 “Go, count the number of warriors 82 from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have.” 83 21:3 Joab replied, “May the Lord make his army 84 a hundred times larger! My master, O king, do not all of them serve my master? Why does my master want to do this? Why bring judgment on Israel?” 85
21:4 But the king’s edict stood, despite Joab’s objections. 86 So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel before returning to Jerusalem. 87 21:5 Joab reported to David the number of warriors. 88 In all Israel there were 1,100,000 89 sword-wielding soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers. 90 21:6 Now Joab 91 did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king’s edict disgusted him. 21:7 God was also offended by it, 92 so he attacked Israel.
21:8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 21:9 The Lord told Gad, David’s prophet, 93 21:10 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.”’” 94 21:11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Pick one of these: 21:12 three 95 years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, 96 or three days being struck down by the Lord, during which a plague will invade the land and the Lord’s messenger will destroy throughout Israel’s territory.’ 97 Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me.” 21:13 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” 98 21:14 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died.
21:15 God sent an angel 99 to ravage 100 Jerusalem. As he was doing so, 101 the Lord watched 102 and relented from 103 his judgment. 104 He told the angel who was destroying, “That’s enough! 105 Stop now!” 106
Now the Lord’s angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan 107 the Jebusite. 21:16 David looked up and saw the Lord’s messenger standing between the earth and sky with his sword drawn and in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. David and the leaders, covered with sackcloth, threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. 108 21:17 David said to God, “Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed! 109 As for these sheep – what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family, 110 but remove the plague from your people!” 111
21:18 So the Lord’s messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build 112 an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 21:19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of the Lord. 113 21:20 While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves. 21:21 When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David; he came out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face 114 to the ground. 21:22 David said to Ornan, “Sell me the threshing floor 115 so I can build 116 on it an altar for the Lord – I’ll pay top price 117 – so that the plague may be removed 118 from the people.” 21:23 Ornan told David, “You can have it! 119 My master, the king, may do what he wants. 120 Look, I am giving you the oxen for burnt sacrifices, the threshing sledges for wood, and the wheat for an offering. I give it all to you.” 21:24 King David replied to Ornan, “No, I insist on buying it for top price. 121 I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice 122 that cost me nothing. 123 21:25 So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold. 124 21:26 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. 125 He called out to the Lord, and the Lord 126 responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar. 21:27 The Lord ordered the messenger 127 to put his sword back into its sheath.
21:28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 21:29 Now the Lord’s tabernacle (which Moses had made in the wilderness) and the altar for burnt sacrifices were at that time at the worship center 128 in Gibeon. 21:30 But David could not go before it to seek God’s will, for he was afraid of the sword of the Lord’s messenger.
1 tn 2 Sam 8:1 identifies this region as “Metheg Ammah.”
2 tn Heb “from the hand of the Philistines.” Here “hand” is figurative language for “control.”
3 tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”
4 tn Heb “hand.”
5 tn Heb “when he went to set up his hand at the Euphrates River.” The Hebrew word יָד (yad, “hand”) is usually understood to mean “control” or “dominion” here. However, since יָד does occasionally refer to a monument, perhaps one could translate, “to set up his monument at the Euphrates River” (i.e., as a visible marker of the limits of his dominion). For another example of the Hiphil of נָצַב (natsav) used with יָד (“monument”), see 1 Sam 15:12.
6 tn Or “horsemen.”
7 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Hadadezer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “and David cut the hamstrings of all the chariot horses, and he left from them one hundred chariot horses.”
9 tc Heb “and David placed in Aram of Damascus.” The object נְצִיבִים (nÿtsivim, “garrisons”) appears to have been accidentally omitted from the text. See v. 13, as well as the parallel passage in 2 Sam 8:6, which includes it.
10 tn Or “delivered.”
11 tn Or “wherever he went.”
12 tn Heb “which were upon the servants of Hadadezer.”
13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
14 tn The MT reads “Tibhath” here, a variant name for Tebah (cf. 2 Sam 8:8). Some English translations substitute the other version of the name here (e.g., NIV, NLT), while others follow the reading of the Hebrew text at this point (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).
15 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:8 has the variant name “Berothai.”
16 tn Heb “the sea of bronze,” or “[the] sea, the bronze one.” See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
17 tn The name is spelled “Toi” in the parallel text in 2 Sam 8:9.
18 tn The name is spelled “Joram” in the parallel text in 2 Sam 8:10.
19 tn Heb “to ask concerning him for peace.”
20 tn Heb “and to bless him because he fought with Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer was a man of battles with Tou.”
21 tn Heb “[along with] all items of gold and silver and bronze.”
22 tn Heb “also them King David made holy to the
23 tn Heb “from.”
24 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:12 of the MT reads “Aram.” However, a few Hebrew
25 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:13 attributes this victory to David.
26 tn Or “delivered.”
27 tn Or “wherever he went.”
28 tn Heb “and he was doing what is just and fair for all his people.”
29 tn Heb “over.”
30 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:17 has the variant spelling “Seraiah.”
31 tn Heb “[was] over.”
32 tn Heb “and the sons of David [were] the heads at the hand of David.” The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:18 identifies them as “priests” (see sn there on the word “priests”).
33 tn Heb “do loyalty.”
34 tn Heb “did loyalty.”
35 tn Heb “to console him concerning his father.”
36 tn Heb “and the servants of David came to the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him.”
37 tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”
38 tc Heb “Is it not to explore and to overturn and to spy out the land (that) his servants have come to you?” The Hebrew term לַהֲפֹךְ (lahafakh, “to overturn”) seems misplaced in the sequence. Some emend the form to לַחְפֹּר (lakhpor, “to spy out”). The sequence of three infinitives may be a conflation of alternative readings.
39 tn Heb “shaved them.” See v. 5.
40 tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto the buttocks.”
41 tn Heb “they.” The logical referent, though not specified in the Hebrew text, has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
42 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
43 tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”
44 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the Ammonites hired chariots and charioteers for about 33.7 tons (30,600 kg) of silver.
45 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:6 has “Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah.”
46 tn The words “the news” and “to meet them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
47 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:10 has “the Ammonites” in place of “the Arameans” here.
48 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49 tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”
50 tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”
51 tn Heb “and the
52 tn Heb “and the army which was with him.”
53 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
54 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
55 tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56 tn Heb “and Aram saw that they were struck down before Israel and they sent messengers and brought out Aram which is beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [was] before them.”
57 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
58 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:17 “he came to Helam.”
59 tn Heb “and David was deployed to meet Aram [for] battle and they fought with him.”
60 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:18 has “seven hundred.”
61 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:18 has the variant spelling “Shobach.”
62 tn Heb “and it was at the time of the turning of the year, at the time of the going out of kings.”
63 tc The translation follows the MT, which reads “of their king”; the LXX and Vulgate read “of Milcom” (cf. 1 Kgs 11:5). Milcom, also known as Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
64 tn Heb “and it was on the head of David.”
65 sn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6.
66 tc The Hebrew text reads “saws,” but since saws were just mentioned, it is preferable to emend מְגֵרוֹת (mÿgerot, “saws”) to מַגְזְרוֹת (magzÿrot, “axes”).
67 tn Heb “and so he would do.”
68 tn Heb “battle stood.”
69 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:18 identifies this site as “Gob.”
70 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:18 has the variant spelling “Saph.”
71 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
72 tc The Hebrew text reads, “Elchanan son of Jair killed Lachmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” But it is likely that the accusative marker in front of לַחְמִי (lakhmiy, “Lachmi”) is a corruption of בֵּית (bet), and that אֶת־לַחְמִי (’et-lakhmiy) should be emended to בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי (bet hallakhmiy, “the Bethlehemite”). See 2 Sam 21:19.
73 tc See tc note on the parallel passage in 2 Sam 21:19.
74 tn Heb “and there was another battle, in Gath.”
75 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:21 has the variant spelling “Shimeah.”
76 tn Heb “they fell.”
77 tn Heb “his servants.”
78 tn Or “Satan.” The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan) can refer to an adversary in general or Satan in particular. There is no article accompanying the term here, which suggests it should be understood generally (cf. NAB “a satan”).
79 tn Heb “stood against.”
80 tn Heb “and incited David to count Israel.” As v. 5 indicates, David was not interested in a general census, but in determining how much military strength he had.
81 tn Or “people.”
82 tn Heb “Go, count Israel.” See the note on “had” in v. 1.
83 tn Heb “their number.”
84 tn Or “people.”
85 tn Heb “Why should it become guilt for Israel?” David’s decision betrays an underlying trust in his own strength rather than in divine provision. See also 1 Chr 27:23-24.
86 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than Joab.”
87 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
88 tn Heb “and Joab gave to David the number of the numbering of the army [or “people”].”
89 tn Heb “a thousand thousands and one hundred thousand.”
90 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:9 has variant figures: “In Israel there were eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were five hundred thousands soldiers.”
91 tn Heb “he”; the proper name (“Joab”) has been substituted for the pronoun here for stylistic reasons; the proper name occurs at the end of the verse in the Hebrew text, where it has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
92 tn Heb “There was displeasure in the eyes of God concerning this thing.”
93 tn Heb “seer.”
94 tn Heb “Three I am extending to you; choose for yourself one of them and I will do it to you.”
95 tc The parallel text in the MT of 2 Sam 24:13 has “seven,” but LXX has “three” there.
96 tc Heb “or three months being swept away from before your enemies and the sword of your enemies overtaking.” The Hebrew term נִסְפֶּה (nisppeh, Niphal participle from סָפָה, safah) should probably be emended to נֻסְכָה (nusÿkhah, Qal infinitive from נוּס [nus] with second masculine singular suffix). See 2 Sam 24:13.
97 tn Heb “or three days of the sword of the
98 tn Heb “There is great distress to me; let me fall into the hand of the
99 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:15 reports that God sent a plague, while 24:16-17 attributes this to the instrumentality of an angel.
100 tn Or “destroy.”
101 tn Heb “while he was destroying.”
102 tn Or “saw.”
103 tn Or “was grieved because of.”
104 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
105 tn For this nuance of the Hebrew word רַב (rav), see BDB 913 s.v. 1.f.
106 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
107 tn In the parallel text in 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (’aravna’, “Aravna”), traditionally “Araunah.” The form of the name found here also occurs in vv. 18-28.
108 tn Heb “and David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.”
109 tn “and doing evil I did evil.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite form of the verb for emphasis.
110 tn Heb “let your hand be on me and on the house of my father.”
111 tn Heb “but on your people not for a plague.”
112 tn Heb “that he should go up to raise up.”
113 tn Heb “and David went up by the word of Gad which he spoke in the name of the
114 tn Heb “nostrils.”
115 tn Heb “the place of the threshing floor.”
116 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive here indicates the immediate purpose/result: “so I can build.”
117 tn Heb “For full silver sell to me.”
118 tn Following the imperative and first person prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive, this third person prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive introduces the ultimate purpose/result: “so the plague may be removed.” Another option is subordinate this form to the preceding imperative, but the latter may be taken as a parenthetical expansion of the initial request.
119 tn Heb “take for yourself.”
120 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
121 tn Heb “No, for buying I will buy for full silver.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
122 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:24 has the plural “burnt sacrifices.”
123 tn Or “without [paying] compensation.”
124 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:24 says David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for “fifty pieces of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.
125 tn Or “tokens of peace.”
126 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
127 tn Heb “spoke to the messenger.”
128 tn Or “high place.”