2 Samuel 8–9

Chapter 8

David’s Triumphs

^1aNow after this it came about that David ¹defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took ²control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

^2aHe ¹defeated ^bMoab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And ^cthe Moabites became servants to David, ^dbringing tribute.

³Then David ¹defeated ^aHadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as ^bhe went to restore his ²rule at the ³River.

⁴David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David ^ahamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots.

⁵When ^athe Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David ¹killed 22,000 Arameans.

⁶Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and ^athe Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And ^bthe Lord helped David wherever he went.

⁷David took the shields of gold which were ¹carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸From ¹Betah and from ^aBerothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

⁹Now when Toi king of ^aHamath heard that David had ¹defeated all the army of Hadadezer,

¹⁰Toi sent ¹Joram his son to King David to ²greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and ³defeated him; for Hadadezer ⁴had been at war with Toi. And ⁵Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.

¹¹King David also ^adedicated these to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued:

¹²from ¹Aram and ^aMoab and ^bthe sons of Ammon and ^cthe Philistines and ^dAmalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³So ^aDavid made a name for himself when he returned from ¹killing 18,000 ²Arameans in ^bthe Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and ^aall the Edomites became servants to David. And ^bthe Lord helped David wherever he went.

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel; and David ¹administered justice and righteousness for all his people.

^16aJoab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and ^bJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was ^crecorder.

^17aZadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were ^bpriests, and Seraiah was ^csecretary.

^18aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada ¹was over the ^bCherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were ^2cchief ministers.

Chapter 9

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

¹Then David said, “Is there yet ¹anyone left of the house of Saul, ^athat I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

²Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you ^aZiba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”

³The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the ^akindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “^bThere is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”

⁴So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is ^ain the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.”

⁵Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.

^6aMephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and ^bfell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!”

⁷David said to him, “Do not fear, for ^aI will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and ^bwill restore to you all the ¹land of your ²grandfather Saul; and ^cyou shall ³eat at my table regularly.”

⁸Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard ^aa dead dog like me?”

⁹Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “^aAll that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s ¹grandson.

¹⁰“You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; nevertheless ^aMephibosheth your master’s grandson ^bshall ¹eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “According ^ato all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at ¹David’s table as one of the king’s sons.

¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for ^ahe ate at the king’s table regularly. Now ^bhe was lame in both feet.