Chronological Plan

¹Now it happened afterward that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

²And He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And the 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 Euphrates River.

⁴And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans.

⁶Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.

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

⁸And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

⁹Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,

¹⁰Toi sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze.

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

¹²from Aram, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Arameans in the Valley of Salt.

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

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.

¹⁶Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary.

¹⁷Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was scribe.

¹⁸Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.

¹Then David said, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul, so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

²Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”

³Then the king said, “Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.”

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

⁵Then King David sent messengers who brought him 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 on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!”

⁷Then David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you yourself shall eat at my table regularly.”

⁸Again he prostrated himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should be concerned about a dead dog like me?”

⁹Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.

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 will have food to eat; nevertheless Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “In accordance with everything that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” 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 the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he ate at the king’s table regularly. And he was disabled in his two feet.

¹Now after this it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines.

²And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his rule to the river Euphrates.

⁴David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans.

⁶Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.

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

⁸Also from Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a very large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea and the pillars and the bronze utensils.

⁹Now when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,

¹⁰he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze.

¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹²Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹³Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.

¹⁴So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and righteousness for all his people.

¹⁵Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary;

¹⁶and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was secretary;

¹⁷and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David were chiefs at the king’s side.