^8:1Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah¹ from the Philistines.²^8:2He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third.³ The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.⁴^8:3David defeated King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah when he came to reestablish⁵ his authority⁶ over the Euphrates⁷ River.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. , ).
2 Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”
3 Heb “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”
4 Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”
5 The has ἐπιστῆσαι (epistēsai, “cause to stand”). See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.
6 Heb “hand.”
7 The does not have the name “Euphrates” in the text. It is supplied in the margin (Qere) as one of ten places where the Masoretes believed that something was “to be read although it was not written” in the text as they had received it. The ancient versions (, , ) include the word. See also the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

After this, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from Philistine control. He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control at the Euphrates River.

NLTNew Living Translation

After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest town. David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money.

David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

It happened afterwards that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the hands of the Philistines. When he defeated Moab, he measured them with the cord, making them lie on the ground. He measured two cords to kill and the third cord to let live. So Moab became servants of David, bringing tribute. Then David struck down Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.

KJV 1900King James Version

And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts. David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.

Public Domain