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¹Now it came about after this that David defeated the Philistines and subdued (humbled) them, and he took control of Metheg-ammah [the main city] from the hand of the Philistines.

²He defeated Moab, and measured them with a length of rope, making them lie down on the ground; he measured two lengths to [choose those to] put to death, and one full length to [choose those to] be kept alive. And the [surviving] Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³Then David defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the River [Euphrates].

⁴David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. David also hamstrung all the chariot horses (making them lame), but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵When the Arameans (Syrians) of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 Arameans.

⁶Then David put garrisons among the Arameans in Damascus, and the Arameans became his servants and brought tribute. The LORD helped David wherever he went.

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

⁸And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took an immense quantity of bronze.

⁹When Toi king of Hamath heard about David's defeat of all the forces of Hadadezer,

¹⁰Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet and congratulate him for his battle and defeat of Hadadezer; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze [as gifts].

¹¹King David also dedicated these [gifts] to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he subdued:

¹²from Aram (Syria), Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans (Syrians) in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He put garrisons in Edom; in all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD helped him wherever he went.

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel, and continued to administer justice and righteousness for all his people.

¹⁶Joab the son of Zeruiah was [commander] over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder (secretary);

¹⁷Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the [chief] priests, and Seraiah was the scribe;

¹⁸Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was [head] over both the Cherethites and Pelethites [the king's bodyguards]; and David's sons were chief [confidential] advisers (officials) [to the king].

¹And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

²There was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, so they called him to David. And the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" He said, "I am your servant."

³And the king said, "Is there no longer anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show the goodness and graciousness of God?" Ziba replied to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan, [one] whose feet are crippled."

⁴So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba replied to the king, "He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar."

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

⁶Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell face down and lay himself down [in respect]. David said, "Mephibosheth." And he answered, "Here is your servant!"

⁷David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall always eat at my table."

⁸Again Mephibosheth lay himself face down and said, "What is your servant, that you would be concerned for a dead dog like me?"

⁹Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house (family).

¹⁰You 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 to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do according to everything that my lord the king commands." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons.

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

¹³So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king's table. And he was lame in both feet.

¹Now it happened later that [Nahash] the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.

²Then David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father did to me." So David sent [a letter along with] some of his servants to console him in regard to his father's death; and David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites.

³But the princes of the Ammonites [were suspicious and] said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?"

⁴So Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half their beards, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away.

⁵When David was informed, he sent [messengers] to meet them [before they reached Jerusalem], for the men were greatly ashamed and humiliated. And the king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return."

⁶When the Ammonites saw that they had become an object of hatred to David, they sent word and hired the Arameans (Syrians) of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men [to fight for them].

⁷When David heard about it, he sent Joab and the entire army, the strong and brave men.

⁸The Ammonites came out and lined up for battle at the entrance of the [city] gate, but the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were [stationed] by themselves in the field.

⁹Now when Joab saw that the battlefront was against him in front and in the rear, he selected some of all the choice men in Israel and set them in battle formation to meet the Arameans (Syrians).

¹⁰But he placed the rest of the men in the hand of his brother Abishai, and he placed them in battle formation to meet the Ammonites.

¹¹Joab said [to Abishai], "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to help you.

¹²Be courageous, and let us show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight."

¹³So Joab and the people who were with him approached the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him.

¹⁴When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab returned from battling against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵When the Arameans saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered together.

¹⁶Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River [Euphrates]; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them.

¹⁷When David was informed, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. Then the Arameans assembled in battle formation to meet David and fought against him.

¹⁸But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there.

¹⁹When all the kings serving Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans (Syrians) were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

¹Then it happened in the spring, at the time when the kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all [the fighting men of] Israel, and they destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

²One evening David got up from his couch and was walking on the [flat] roof of the king's palace, and from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful in appearance.

³David sent word and inquired about the woman. Someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

⁴David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he lay with her. And when she was purified from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

⁵The woman conceived; and she sent word and told David, "I am pregnant."

⁶Then David sent word to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.

⁷When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the people were doing, and how the war was progressing.

⁸Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet (spend time at home)." Uriah left the king's palace, and a gift from the king was sent out after him.

⁹But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king's palace with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

¹⁰When they told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not [just] come from a [long] journey? Why did you not go to your house?"

¹¹Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in huts (temporary shelters), and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."

¹²Then David said to Uriah, "Stay here today as well, and tomorrow I will let you leave." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

¹³Now David called him [to dinner], and he ate and drank with him, so that he made Uriah drunk; in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, and [still] did not go down to his house.

¹⁴In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.

¹⁵He wrote in the letter, "Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and leave him, so that he may be struck down and die."

¹⁶So it happened that as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew the [enemy's] valiant men were positioned.

¹⁷And the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died.

¹⁸Then Joab sent word and informed David of all the events of the war.

¹⁹And he commanded the messenger, "When you have finished reporting all the events of the war to the king,

²⁰then if the king becomes angry and he says to you, 'Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot [arrows] from the wall?

²¹Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Was it not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?' Then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.'"

²²So the messenger left, and he came and told David everything that Joab had sent him to report.

²³The messenger said to David, "The men indeed prevailed against us and came out to us in the field, but we were on them and pushed them as far as the entrance of the [city] gate.

²⁴Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead."

²⁵Then David said to the messenger, "Tell Joab this, 'Do not let this thing disturb you, for the sword devours one [side] as well as another. Strengthen your battle against the city and overthrow it'; and so encourage Joab."

²⁶When Uriah's wife [Bathsheba] heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband.

²⁷And when the time of mourning was past, David sent word and had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the LORD.