^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. ^8:4David seized from him 1,700 charioteers⁸ and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses.⁹^8:5The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans. ^8:6David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected¹⁰ David wherever he campaigned.¹¹

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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.
8 The has “one thousand chariots and seven thousand charioteers,” a reading adopted in the text of the . See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:4.
9 Heb “and David cut the hamstrings of all the chariot horses, and he left from them a hundred chariot horses.”
10 Or “delivered.”
11 Or “wherever he went.”

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. And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

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. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

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. David captured seventeen hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses and kept a hundred chariots.

When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men. Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

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. David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.

When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

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. David captured from him one thousand and seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but from them he spared a hundred chariot horses. When Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of Aram. David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.

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. And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.

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