2 Samuel 8

1 Some time later [after this, afterwards], David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] defeated [smote, struck] the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia], subdued [humbled, brought low] them, and took [gained control of, captured] Metheg-ammah [the mother city, a city of great importance] from the hand [power, direction] of the Philistines. word study 2 David also defeated [smote, overcame] the Moabites [descendants of Lot], made them lie down [stretched out, prostrate] on the ground [earth, land], and measured them off [stretched out a line, assessed] with a cord [line, measuring rope]. He measured off [assessed, evaluated] with two lengths [two lines, a dual measure] those to be put to death [killed, executed], and with one length [one line, a single measure] those to be spared [kept alive, preserved]. So the Moabites became [submitted, surrendered] subject to David [as servants, in tribute] and brought him tribute [gifts, offerings]. word study 3 David also defeated [smote, struck down] Hadadezer [king of Zobah, a Syrian ruler] son of Rehob, king [ruler, monarch] of Zobah, who had marched out [gone to recover, attempted to regain] to restore [reestablish, recover] his dominion [control, power] along [by, at] the Euphrates River [a major waterway]. word study 4 David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] captured from him a thousand [one thousand, a large number] chariots, seven thousand [seven times a thousand, a multitude of] charioteers, and twenty thousand [twenty times a thousand, a vast army of] foot soldiers [men who walk or march on foot], and he hamstrung [to cut or pluck up, to cripple] all the horses [cavalry soldiers, horses used for chariots] except a hundred [one hundred, a smaller group] he kept for the chariots [vehicles, teams of horses, or cavalry]. word study 5 When the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] of Damascus [the capital city of Syria] came to help [succor, give aid] King Hadadezer [Hadad is help, a Syrian king] of Zobah [a region in Syria], David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] struck down [smiteth, defeated] twenty-two thousand [two and twenty thousand, a large number] men [individuals, people]. word study 6 Then he placed [stationed, established] garrisons [military posts, armed forces] in Aram [Syria, the region] of Damascus [the capital city], and the Arameans [Syrians, the people] became subject [servants, slaves] to David [the king of Israel] and brought him [offered, presented] tribute [gifts, taxes]. So the LORD [Yehovah, the divine Savior] made David victorious [gave victory, saved] wherever [in all his ways, throughout his journeys] he went [traveled, marched]. word study 7 And David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] took the gold [valuable, brilliant] shields [protective devices, armor] that belonged to the officers [servants, slaves] of Hadadezer [a Syrian king, meaning Hadad is help] and brought them [to a place of rest, into the city] to Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Palestine]. word study 8 And from Betah [a place of security] and Berothai [a city, Berothah], cities [towns, settlements] of Hadadezer [Hadad is help, a Syrian king], King David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] took [to get, capture] a large amount [exceedingly much, very much] of bronze [copper, a base metal]. word study 9 When King [ruler, monarch] Toi [a Syrian king] of Hamath [an ancient city in Syria] heard [listened, gave attention] that David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] had defeated [smitten, struck down] the entire [all, everything] army [host, forces] of Hadadezer [a Syrian king, meaning Hadad is help], word study 10 he sent [with a mission] his son Joram [as an ambassador] to greet [to ask of welfare, to salute] King David [the anointed ruler] and bless [to praise, to honor] him for fighting [waging war, engaging in battle] and defeating [striking, overcoming] Hadadezer [a Syrian king], who had been at war [in a state of conflict, battling] with Toi [a Syrian king, a man of wars]. Joram brought with him articles [vessels, utensils] of silver [a valuable metal] and gold [a precious metal] and bronze [a strong, durable metal, made from copper and tin], word study 11 and King [the ruler, monarch] David dedicated [to consecrate, set apart as holy] these to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], along with the silver [money, wealth] and gold [a valuable metal, brilliance] he had dedicated [consecrated, made holy] from all [every, the whole] the nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrews] he had subdued [conquered, forced into submission]— word study 12 from Edom and Moab [the land and descendants of the son of Lot], from the Ammonites [sons of Lot, a neighboring nation] and Philistines [immigrants from other places] and Amalekites [enemies of the Israelites, descendants of Esau], and from the spoil [the plunder or booty] of Hadadezer [king of Zobah, meaning Hadad is help] son of Rehob [a Syrian king’s father], king of Zobah [a region in Syria, a separate kingdom]. word study 13 And David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] made a name [his reputation, honor, and character] for himself when he returned [to turn back, come back] from striking down [to smite, defeat] eighteen [eight and ten, a large number] thousand Edomites [the people of Edom, descendants of Esau] in the Valley [a deep, narrow valley or gorge] of Salt [a place of purification] [in the region of Aram, also known as Syria]. word study 14 He placed [military outposts, stationed troops] garrisons throughout [the entire region of] Edom, and all the Edomites [became servants, were subjugated] were subject to David. So the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] made David [completely] victorious [gave him deliverance, enabled him to triumph] wherever he went [traveled, conducted his campaigns]. word study 15 Thus David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] reigned [to advise or counsel, to rule as king] over all [everything, every person] Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, his descendants] and administered [executed, did] justice [righteous judgment] and righteousness [virtue, morality] for all [every one, his entire nation] his people [a nation, his followers]: word study 16 Joab [King David’s nephew] son of Zeruiah was over the army [host, large group of people]; Jehoshaphat [Jehovah has judged] son of Ahilud was the recorder [keeper of records, remembrancer]; word study 17 Zadok [a righteous priest] son of Ahitub [my brother is good] and Ahimelech [my king is brother] son of Abiathar [my father is abundant] were priests [spiritual leaders, mediators]; Seraiah [Jehovah is ruler] was the scribe [secretary, recorder of God’s words]; word study 18 Benaiah [a strong warrior] son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites [foreign soldiers, bodyguards] and Pelethites [messengers, couriers]; and David’s [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] sons were [chief] priestly leaders [ministers, rulers]. word study