¹⁷When the Philistines heard that David had been made king over Israel, all the Philistines went to look for him. But when David heard the news, he went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸The Philistines came and camped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹David asked the Lord, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord said to David, “Go! I will certainly hand them over to you.”

²⁰So David went to Baal Perazim and defeated the Philistines there. David said, “Like a flood of water, the Lord has broken through my enemies in front of me.” So David named the place Baal Perazim. ⁿ ²¹The Philistines left their idols behind at Baal Perazim, so David and his men carried them away.

²²Once again the Philistines came and camped at the Valley of Rephaim. ²³When David prayed to the Lord, he answered, “Don’t attack the Philistines from the front. Instead, go around and attack them in front of the balsam trees. ²⁴When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act quickly. I, the Lord, will have gone ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.” ²⁵So David did what the Lord commanded. He defeated the Philistines and chased them all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

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Footnotes

nBaal Perazim This name means “the Lord breaks through.”