2 Samuel 5:17–25

The Philistines Defeated

^17yNow when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it ^zand went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in ^athe Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹So David ^binquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

²⁰So David went to ^cBaal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place ⁴Baal Perazim. ²¹And they left their ⁵images there, and David and his men ^dcarried them away.

^22eThen the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³Therefore ^fDavid inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. ²⁴And it shall be, when you ^ghear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then ^hthe Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ²⁵And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from ⁱGeba ⁶as far as ^jGezer.