1 Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3 ¶ And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish his dominion by the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses , but reserved of them an hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria-damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought gifts. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Likewise from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
9 ¶ Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah; 10 He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
11 ¶ Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek. 12 Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.
13 ¶ And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
14 ¶ So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. 15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder. 16 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; 17 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.
A List of David's Victories in War
(2 Samuel 8.1-14)1 Later, David attacked and defeated the Philistines. He captured their town of Gath and the nearby villages.
2 David also defeated the Moabites, and so they had to accept him as their ruler and pay taxes to him.
3 While King Hadadezer of Zobah was trying to gain control of the territory near the Euphrates River, David met him in battle at Hamath and defeated him. 4 David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 chariot drivers, and 20,000 soldiers. And he crippled all but 100 of the horses.
5 When troops from the Syrian kingdom of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. 6 Then David stationed some of his troops in Damascus, and the people there had to accept David as their ruler and pay taxes to him.
Everywhere David went, the Lord helped him win battles.
7 Hadadezer's officers had carried gold shields, but David took these shields and brought them back to Jerusalem. 8 He also took a lot of bronze from the cities of Tibhath and Cun, which had belonged to Hadadezer. Later, Solomon used this bronze to make the large bowl called the Sea, and to make the pillars and other furnishings for the temple.
9-10 King Tou of Hamath and King Hadadezer had been enemies. So when Tou heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's whole army, he sent his son Hadoram to congratulate David on his victory. Hadoram also brought him gifts made of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 David gave these gifts to the Lord, just as he had done with the silver and gold he had captured from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.
12 Abishai the son of Zeruiah defeated the Edomite army in Salt Valley and killed 18,000 of their troops. 13 Then he stationed troops in Edom, and the people there had to accept David as their ruler.
Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victory in war.
A List of David's Officials
(2 Samuel 8.15-18)14 David ruled all Israel with fairness and justice.
15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was the commander in chief of the army.
Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud kept the government records.
16 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests.
Shavsha was the secretary.
17 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was the commander of David's bodyguard.
David's sons were his highest-ranking officials.