HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 742
1 C H RO N I C L ES 1 8
God, O Lord. And you have promised these
good things to your servant. 27 And now, it
has pleased you to bless the house of your
servant, so that it will continue forever
before you. For when you grant a blessing,
O Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”
— promises —
from God
Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good! His faithful
love endures forever.
1 C H R O N I C LE S 16:34
David’s Military Victories
After this, David defeated and subdued
the Philistines by conquering Gath and
its surrounding towns. 2 David also conquered
the land of Moab, and the Moabites who were
spared became David’s subjects and paid him
tribute money.
3 David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, as far as Hamath,* when
Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured
1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000
foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses
except enough for 100 chariots.
5 When Arameans from Damascus arrived to
help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of
them. 6 Then he placed several army garrisons*
in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him
tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.
7 David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem, 8 along with a large
amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns of Tebah* and Cun. Later Solomon melted the bronze
and molded it into the great bronze basin called
the Sea, the pillars, and the various bronze
articles used at the Temple.
9 When King Toi* of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Joram* to
congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies
and were often at war. Joram presented David
with many gifts of gold, silver, and bronze.
11 King David dedicated all these gifts to the
Lord, along with the silver and gold he had
taken from the other nations—from Edom,
Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.
12 Abishai son of Zeruiah destroyed 18,000
Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He placed army
garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became
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David’s subjects. In fact, the Lord made David
victorious wherever he went.
14 So David reigned over all Israel and did
what was just and right for all his people.
15 Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the
army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal
historian. 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech* son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah* was the court secretary. 17 Benaiah son of
Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard.*
And David’s sons served as the king’s chief
assistants.
David Defeats the Ammonites
Some time after this, King Nahash of the
Ammonites died, and his son Hanun*
became king. 2 David said, “I am going to show
loyalty to Hanun because his father, Nahash,
was always loyal to me.” So David sent messengers to express sympathy to Hanun about his
father’s death.
But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the
land of Ammon, 3 the Ammonite commanders
said to Hanun, “Do you really think these men
are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the land so they
can come in and conquer it!” 4 So Hanun seized
David’s ambassadors and shaved them, cut off
their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back
to David in shame.
5 When David heard what had happened to
the men, he sent messengers to tell them, “Stay
at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then
come back.” For they felt deep shame because
of their appearance.
6 When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, Hanun and the
Ammonites sent 75,000 pounds* of silver to hire
chariots and charioteers from Aram-naharaim,
Aram-maacah, and Zobah. 7 They also hired
32,000 chariots and secured the support of
the king of Maacah and his army. These forces
camped at Medeba, where they were joined by
the Ammonite troops that Hanun had recruited
from his own towns. 8 When David heard about
this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight
them. 9 The Ammonite troops came out and
drew up their battle lines at the entrance of
the city, while the other kings positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.
10 When Joab saw that he would have to fight
on both the front and the rear, he chose some
19
18:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 18:6 As in
Greek version and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Sam 8:6); Hebrew
lacks several army garrisons. 18:8 Hebrew reads Tibhath,
a variant spelling of Tebah; compare parallel text at 2 Sam 8:8.
18:9 As in parallel text at 2 Sam 8:9; Hebrew reads Tou; also in
18:10. 18:10 As in parallel text at 2 Sam 8:10; Hebrew reads
Hadoram, a variant spelling of Joram. 18:16a As in some
Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate (see
also 2 Sam 8:17); most Hebrew manuscripts read Abimelech.
18:16b As in parallel text at 2 Sam 8:17; Hebrew reads
Shavsha. 18:17 Hebrew of the Kerethites and Pelethites.
19:1 As in parallel text at 2 Sam 10:1; Hebrew lacks Hanun.
19:6 Hebrew 1,000 talents [34,000 kilograms].