Chronological Plan

¹After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.

²Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.

³David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates.

⁴David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

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

⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

⁷And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

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

⁹When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,

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

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

¹²from Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁶Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

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

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

¹Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

²And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “At your service!”

³Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”

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

⁵Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

⁶Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

⁷So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

⁸Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”

⁹And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

¹⁰You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”

¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.

¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

¹After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines.

²Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.

³And David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates.

⁴David took from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

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

⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

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

⁸Also from Tibhath and from Chun, cities of Hadadezer, David brought a large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea, the pillars, and the articles of bronze.

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 bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou); and Hadoram brought with him all kinds of articles of gold, silver, and bronze.

¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

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

¹³He also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

¹⁴So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁵Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

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

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