2 Samuel 8
1 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them; and David took the power of the capital out of the hand of the Philistines.
Some time later, David’s army attacked the Philistia [army] and defeated them. They took control over the entire Philistia area.
2 And he smote the Moabites, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.
David’s army also defeated the army of the Moab people-group. David forced their soldiers to lie down on the ground [close to each other]. His men killed two out of every three of them. The [other] Moab people [were forced to] accept David as their ruler, and they were forced to give to him [every year the] payment/tax [that he demanded].
3 And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion by the river Euphrates.
David’s army also defeated [the army of] Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, who ruled [the state of] Zobah [in Syria]. That happened when David went to rule again over the area at [the upper part of] the Euphrates River.
4 And David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot [horses], but reserved of them [for] a hundred chariots.
David’s army captured 1,700 of Hadadezer’s soldiers who rode on horses, and 20,000 of his other soldiers. They also crippled/hamstrung most of the horses that pulled the chariots, but they left/spared enough horses to [pull] 100 chariots.
5 And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.
When [the army of] Syria came from Damascus [city] to help King Hadadezer’s [army], David’s soldiers killed 22,000 of them.
6 And David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, [and] brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.
Then David stationed (groups of his soldiers/army camps) in their area, and the people of Syria were forced to accept David as their ruler, and to give to David’s government [every year] the payment/tax that he demanded. And Yahweh enabled David’s [army] to win victories wherever they went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
David’s soldiers took the gold shields that were carried by Hadadezer’s officials, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much bronze.
They also brought [to Jerusalem] a lot of bronze [that they found] in Betah and Berothai, two cities that King Hadadezer [had previously] ruled.
9 And Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadadezer;
When Toi, the king of the Hamath [city in Syria], heard that David’s [army] had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer,
10 and Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him; for Hadadezer was continually at war with Toi. And he brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.
he sent his son Joram to greet King David and to (congratulate him/say that he was happy) about his army defeating Hadadezer’s army, which Toi’s [army] had fought many times. Joram brought to David many items/gifts made from gold, silver, and bronze.
11 Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated of all the nations that he had subdued:
King David dedicated all those items to Yahweh. He also dedicated the silver and gold which his army had taken from the nations that they had conquered.
12 of the Syrians, and of the Moabites, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of the Amalekites, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
They had taken items from the Edom people-group and the Moab people-group, from the Ammon people-group, from the Philistia people, and from [the descendants of] Amalek, as well as from the people that Hadadezer [previously] ruled.
13 And David made him a name when he returned, after he had smitten the Syrians in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand [men].
When David returned [after defeating the armies of Syria], he became more famous because his army killed 18,000 soldiers from the Edom people-group in the Salt Valley [near the Dead Sea].
14 And he put garrisons in Edom: throughout Edom did he put garrisons; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.
David stationed (groups of his soldiers/army camps) throughout the Edom area, and forced the people there to accept him as their king. Yahweh enabled David’s [army] to win battles wherever they went.
15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice to all his people.
David ruled over all the Israeli people, and he always did for them what was fair and just.
16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler;
Joab was the army commander; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the man who reported to the people everything that David decided that they should do;
17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was scribe;
Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Seraiah was the official secretary;
18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was the commander of (David’s bodyguards/the men who protected the king); and David’s sons were priests (OR, his administrators/advisors).
